Darling Leylah Fernandez delights the Big Apple
After her run to the semi-finals of the US Open, the storms of enthusiasm for Leylah Fernandez do not stop - and rightly so.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Sep 09, 2021, 09:45 am
At the end of the next crazy US Open day, basketball legend Magic Johnson spoke up with an interjection about the tennis situation.
According to Johnson, anyone who has not yet seen the most exciting player at this Grand Slam tournament has "really missed something": "She captivates the whole world." Johnson's deep bow was addressed to 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez, whose unlikely triumph reached a new high at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center on Tuesday evening - with the dramatic 6: 3, 3: 6, 7: 6 (7: 5) victory over the fifth in the world ranking list Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) and the amazing advance into the New York semi-finals.
In the meantime, where all US stars and starlets have said goodbye to Grand Slam unemployment, the fearless teenager from Montreal has become the new fan favorite in the Big Apple. “I don't even know what to say about it anymore. It's all overwhelming, ”said Fernandez after her last coup. In the semifinals, she will face Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) on Thursday night (1 a.m. CEST).
Evert: "Had a grueling draw"
Fernandez has long been considered a huge talent in the touring circuit, and her qualities have by no means remained hidden from the industry experts. But the winning run of the technically excellently trained left-hander in these Open American Championship stunned the tennis scene on the wrong foot. “She had a grueling draw. To assume you would have been in the second week of the tournament would have been a crazy bet, ”said ex-star Chris Evert. But Fernandez impressed from the first minute of the US Open with her controlled game, in which she ideally mixed power with the necessary precision.
McEnroe: "way ahead of your age"
In the early Grand Slam meters, she defeated the former top 20 player Ana Konjuh (Croatia) and the multiple Grand Slam quarter-finalist Kaia Kanepi (Estonia), then the first big moment of surprise followed with the success against defending champion Naomi Osaka. "She appears as if she has been at the top for many years - like an experienced Grand Slam player", John McEnroe ennobled the 19-year-old from Montreal, "she is way ahead of her real age."
Fernandez doesn't just play successfully on her good days. But also when things don't go as planned on the grand slam stage. Against the former New York Queen Angelique Kerber, “Darling Leylah” (New York Post) fell behind in the round of 16 with 4: 6 and 2: 4 before she started a formidable race to catch up and played in the third set as if in a frenzy. “I couldn't do anything more. She was absolutely outstanding ", said Kerber afterwards," she plays as freely as one can only at this age. "With the hard-fought victory against Svitolina, after all the bronze medalist from Tokyo, Fernandez is now the youngest New York semi-finalist since Maria Sharapova in 2005. These days at the US Open are "a little unreal", said Fernandez, "it's as if I'm living in a dream that doesn't stop."
Fernandez cracks top 50 for the first time
In the world rankings, Fernandez, who is coached by her own father Jorge, a former Ecuadorian professional footballer, is getting closer and closer to the best in the business. In the so-called live ranking, which includes the current US Open results, the teenager is already ranked 36th, a huge leap from 73rd place since the start in New York. The rise also makes planning for the coming months easier, Fernandez no longer has to contest qualification matches such as the preparatory tournaments for the US Open.
In the top competitions where men and women serve together, she will regularly meet a familiar face from Montreal - Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 20-year-old colleague who, with his abandonment victory against Spain's next hope, Carlos Alcaraz, also made it to the US Open semifinals moved in. "These are memorable tennis days for our country," says Tom Tebbutt, the Canadian reporter legend.