Canadian Leylah Fernandez posts another upset earns spot in US Open semifinals

By Staff The Canadian Press

Posted September 7, 2021 6:15 pm    

Updated September 7, 2021 6:19 pm

Smaller font Descrease article font size

-A

Larger font Increase article font size

A+

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez continued her remarkable run at the U.S. Open Tuesday, earning a spot in the semifinals with an upset victory over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

The 19-year-old from Laval, Que., held on through some difficult stretches to post a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) win over the tournament’s No. 5 seed.

Read more: Naomi Osaka considers break from tennis after U.S. Open loss to Canada’s Fernandez

Fernandez broke Svitolina midway through the first set and won 4-of-10 break points across the two-hour-and-24-minute match.

Svitolina, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last month, had eight aces and won 72 per cent of her first-serve points, but the Canadian remained patient and agile, dashing across the court to place shots just beyond her opponent’s reach.

Trending Stories

Protesters throw small rocks, debris at Trudeau as he leaves Ontario campaign stop

Florida hit by its deadliest COVID-19 wave yet, driven by Delta variant surge

Read more: Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez advances to U.S. Open quarterfinals

Story continues below advertisement

Fernandez, currently ranked No. 73 in the world, also beat stars Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round and Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the fourth.

She’ll face either No. 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic or No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals.

Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 12 seed, is set to face Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men’s semifinals later on Tuesday.

3:33 Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu â€" Aug 2, 2021

© 2021 The Canadian Press

JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS REPORT AN ERROR

Leave a comment Comments

Leave a comment Comments

Share this post