Canada’s newest teenaged tennis hero is headed to the U.S. Open women’s final.
Leylah Fernandez, of Laval, Que., fought back from an early 4-1 first-set deficit to narrowly defeat Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4, securing her first-ever shot at a Grand Slam title.
The 19-year-old fan favourite got off to a slow start in Thursday’s semifinal match, struggling at first to even make contact with the No. 2 seed’s blistering pinpoint serves and a fearsome cross-court forehand.
But by the time she broke Sabalenka to take a 4-2 lead in the third set, it was clear the 73rd-ranked Fernandez wasn’t going anywhere without a fight.
The Canadian’s spirited, odds-defying march through one of the game’s most prestigious events — she dispatched both No. 3 Naomi Osaka of Japan, Germany’s Angelique Kerber tand No. 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine to reach the semis — has taken the tennis world by storm, including smitten fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The crowd support seemed to settle her down halfway through the first set, when, with the momentum clearly on Sabalenka’s side, Fernandez delivered three consecutive aces to grab a quick win and stanch the bleeding.
As they’ve done almost from the outset, the fans — some of them decked out in Canadian flags and T-shirts hand-lettered with the name “Leylah” — cheered her like a hometown favourite, an advantage that at times appeared to be getting on Sabalenka’s nerves.
When Sabalenka botched an easy overhead volley during the first-set tiebreak, the place erupted for Fernandez, then again during the second set when the Canadian delivered a slicing backhand her opponent couldn’t handle.
And when Fernandez took a one-game lead in the second set, a lead she would ultimately surrender, a visibly frustrated Sabalenka decided to retire her racquet by smashing it to pieces on the ground.
Fernandez will attempt to become the second Canadian to win women’s singles at Flushing Meadows after Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., who captured the U.S. Open title in 2019.
She will face either No. 17 Maria Sakkari of Greece or 18-year-old Emma Raducanu of Great Britain in Saturday’s final.
Meanwhile, No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal plays No. 2 Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the semifinals on the men’s side on Friday.