On the prestigious Arthur-Ashe court, the 18-year-old fought fiercely, relentlessly and determination in front of an audience she was finally able to rally to her cause as her confidence grew.
Yet very few observers believed in its chances. The important thing is that she believed in it.
Before the game even started, I knew I could win, said rebellious Fernandez on the pitch after winning. The crowd made a big difference. Thanks to my New York friends for helping me achieve this victory.
Fernandez never seemed intimidated by the quality and notoriety of his rival. Smaller and less powerful than her Japanese rival, the Laval player made up for it with her foolproof fighting spirit.
Both players tied the score up to 5-5 in the first two innings. Great champions know when and how to step up when needed and Naomi Osaka is a great champion. In the first set, the Japanese won the last nine rallies to win 7-5.
In the second set, Osaka also broke her rival’s serve at 5-5. When the powerful waitress stepped onto the backline, pretty much everyone on Arthur-Ashe court believed Fernandez was going to have to put his racket away and politely leave after about an hour of play.
It was very bad to know her.
I wanted to stay on court longer to put on a better show for the crowd, said Fernandez, smiling. An hour was not enough.
Leylah Annie Fernandez faced Naomi Osaka for the first time.
The little left-hander broke Osaka before completely dominating the tiebreaker at 7-2 and it was Osaka, after losing control of his forehand, who abused his racquet, hitting it hard on the court. before throwing it twice.
Fernandez retained the ascendancy over her rival at the start of the third set by breaking her serve in the first game. Osaka, very upset, was even reprimanded by the referee after hitting a ball of rage in the heights of the stadium.
The Quebecer, more and more demonstrative, continued to run all the balls and to fight. She didn’t give up when she settled into the 5-4 serve. She closed the case from her first match point, without ceding a single point to her rival.
It took nerves of steel. Fernandez kept his cool in the good times and the bad, and especially when Osaka got angry.
I wasn’t focusing on Naomi, but on myself and what I was going to do. It was a day at the office like any other, she added to the TSN network microphone. I have worked hard over the past few years and am where I wanted to be.
Naomi Osaka was trying to defend her title acquired in 2020 in New York. She had won four of the last six grand slam tournaments played on hard court.
On Sunday, Fernandez will face Germany’s Angelique Kerber (No. 16) in her first in the 4th round of a grand slam tournament.
