After her next tennis coup at the US Open, Leylah Fernandez first sank to her knees.
In disbelief, she clapped her hands in front of her face to the cheers of the audience in Arthur Ashe Stadium and was simply overwhelmed by the fact that she was suddenly in the semifinals at the US Open.
At 6: 3, 3: 6, 7: 6 (7: 5) against number five seeded Jelina Switolina from Ukraine, the 19-year-old Canadian showed again spectacular power tennis in New York and won the three-set the next surprise followed against Angelique Kerber in the previous round.
Inspired by the strong performance of his compatriot, Felix Auger-Aliassime also made it into the semifinals for the first time at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments a few hours later and thus finally put the Canadian tennis fans into ecstasy.
The 21-year-old benefited in the quarter-finals from the injury-related surrender of his Spanish opponent Carlos Alcaraz. The 18-year-old, who had eliminated the German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk in five sets in the round of 16, had to pass because of leg complaints at the score of 3: 6, 1: 3.
Fernandez on the trail of Sharapova
“I never thought that such a day would come,” said Auger-Aliassime, the first Canadian man in a semifinals in New York ever. “A little girl and a little boy, both from Montréal, both at the same time in the semifinals of the US Open – unbelievable,” said the Canadian, who is now up against number two seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev won against Dutch qualifiers Botic van de Zandschulp 6: 3, 6: 0, 4: 6, 7: 5.
The focus, however, was on Fernandez, who was only really known to insiders before the US Open. But after her victories against Naomi Osaka, Kerber and now Svitolina, the left-hander is suddenly the new star in the women’s table.
“I just tried to keep believing in myself,” said the Canadian, the youngest semi-finalist at the US Open since Russian Maria Sharapova 16 years ago.
Maple syrup as a secret
In the fight for the final, Fernandez now has to deal with fellow favorite Aryna Sabalenka. The 23-year-old from Belarus clearly defeated French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic 6: 1, 6: 4.
Even then, Fernandez wants to go back to the field without worrying. Two years ago, in Bianca Andreescu, a Canadian woman won in New York.
But what is the Canadians’ secret of success? Fernandez reacted to this question just as quickly as he did before to Svitolina’s balls on the pitch. “I would say it’s the maple syrup.”
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