Canadian teen fighting for her championship dream at U.S. Open
NEW YORK — The coaching took place on the phone as it has since the beginning of last week.
Leylah Fernandez’s father and coach, Jorge, stayed home with her sister and hasn’t been in Queens to watch his daughter knock off one top ranked player after another.
Still, as the most important match of Fernandez’s life went to a third-set tiebreaker Tuesday, Fernandez thought back to the phone call she had with her father earlier in the day.
Today’s your first quarterfinals. Don’t make it your last. Don’t make it your last over here. Fight for your dreams.
Fight for your dreams. Fernandez could hear her father’s words as clearly as if he were sitting in the box next to her fitness coach and screaming mother.
And so, one day after turning 19, Fernandez did exactly that. Fernandez continued her dream run at the U.S. Open, with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) win over No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina to earn a berth in the semifinals.
The Canadian left-hander becomes the youngest player to get this far in the women’s bracket since Maria Sharapova in 2005. Fernandez will play No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over No. 8 Barbora Krejcikova, in the semifinals on Thursday.
Can Fernandez continue this dream run? Can a teenager ranked 73rd in the world actually become a U.S. Open champ? After Tuesday's win, it certainly seems possible. The victory was the third straight over a seeded player. Fernandez first stunned fans when she knocked of defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round.
She followed that with a win over No. 16 Angelique Kerber.