Leylah’s thriving in limelight, and hungry for more
NEW YORK—That single arm straight up in the air, the hand in a fist. It has become the trademark of Leylah Fernandez.
Like a winner’s olé.
And maybe it was always there. But who knew? Now, on the largest tennis stage in the world, everybody knows.
The 19-year-old Canadian — her birthday was Monday — showing outrageous self-confidence for someone so young and so Grand Slam uncultivated, finessed, freewheeled and hammer-and-tonged her way through the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, laying a three-set whop on No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina. She consolidated the romance that has blossomed between the teenager and a tennis-passionate New York audience.
In the process, the left-hander from Laval, Que., became the youngest to knock off two top-five players — Svitolina and Naomi Osaka — at the Open, the third female to accomplish the feat, and the first since Serena Williams in 1999. She is also the third Canadian to make a semifinal at Flushing Meadows, following Carling Bassett-Seguso in 1984 and, of course, Bianca Andreescu, who crashed the proceedings by seizing the trophy two years ago.
Fernandez is nervy. She is indefatigable, belying a daintiness of appearance that brings to mind more a ballerina than a hard-nosed tennis pro, a presentation accentuated by an on-court outfit of tutu-like white gossamer skirt. And she has been as steady as they come, retaining her aplomb even in keenly anxiety-inducing moments, as when Fernandez, with the match on her racket, was broken in the ninth
game of the third set, allowing Svitolina to jam her foot in the door, forcing a deciding tiebreak.
The teen didn’t crack under pressure, facing a veteran opponent countering with some really brave tennis, Svitolina uncorking her eighth ace to rally from 4-1 down and level at 5-5 before Fernandez raced and reached and stretched for a wow return, her 42nd winner, from the corner. On match point, Svitolina, who hadn’t dropped a set before Tuesday, sent a forehand off a Fernandez serve long and that was it after two hours and 24 minutes: 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Fernandez dropped to her knees, body visibly shaking with sobs. Then she popped right back up and served balls into a crowd that had squeezed her to its bosom.
“Throughout the whole match, I was so nervous,” she said in her on-court interview. The jumpiness hadn’t been detected until that third-set drop of serve, when she was on the edge of victory. “Thanks to you guys, to the crowd, to the New York crowd, for cheering me on, fighting for me, and never giving up for me. Thanks to you I was able to push through today.”
That wasn’t just playing to the crowd. The full house at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest tennis court on the planet, had clearly energized Fernandez — she fed off their adoring support. Throughout this entire Cinderella tournament, Fernandez has never looked like the 73rd-ranked player in the world, elevating her game with every match, building on a sudden quickening that began with her jaw-dropping dispatch of Osaka, the world No. 3. She recovered from 6-4, 4-2 down to beat Angelique Kerber in the round of 16. A year ago, she didn’t get further than the second round, falling to Sofia Kenin. For context, this is just Fernandez’s third Tour level semi coming up.
Promptly afterward, Fernandez called her dad-coach Jorge, who’s at home in Florida with a younger daughter, coaching from a distance. The family moved there three years ago to get further training for Leylah, who is home-schooled. Mom Irene was in the player’s box here.
“He honestly told me that I put him through hell and back,” Fernandez grinned, recounting the conversation to reporters at her post-match press conference. “But he’s very happy for me and he’s glad that I was able to fight for every point, and that I deserved this win. Enjoy this win today and tomorrow we’ll go back to work.”
She doesn’t cut herself much slack. Leylah was a preternatural tennis prodigy since the age of five, hitting balls in the driveway, in the basement, warned by her parents not to break the TV in their rec room.
But this, grand slam showtime, is where she’d always envisioned herself being, from childhood days when Fernandez imagined herself playing matches against the Williams sisters and, most especially, her idol, Justine Henin.
Because Henin, like Fernandez, wasn’t freakishly Amazonian in size, relied on guile and wiles, ball placement and angles more than intimidating presence. In those fantasy matches, Fernandez always won.
Reality has unfolded with remarkable speed, as it did two years ago for Andreescu, who was eliminated in a physically gruelling fourth round encounter on Monday, actually 2:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Against Svitolina, a 26-year- old from Ukraine who won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Games, Fernandez faced a tenacious competitor who has stayed in the top 10 in women’s tennis longer than anybody else. The 2019 U.S. Open semifinalist had seen off former No. 1 Simona Halep in the previous round to reach her eighth quarterfinal in a major. Though having a stronger serve, Svitolina found her power blunted by Fernandez, who stubbornly refused to move back from the baseline, taking balls early, disrupting her opponent’s pace and rhythm, making audacious shots.
“Today’s match was definitely one of the hardest, not only tennis-wise but also mentally and emotionally. Svitolina is a great player, great fighter. I was glad to be able to fight in the first set. In the second set, she upped her level and I unfortunately made a few mistakes on key moments. I was glad I was able to recuperate for the third set, the tiebreaker too.”
Fernandez has just kept rolling, building up a head of momentum and so obviously thriving in the limelight.
“I think it’s something from inside of me because from a very young age I’ve always wanted to be on the first court … Even in school, apart from presentations in front of the class that I hated, but when I had to, like, do a mini play, sing, dance, I would go out there, have fun, I would enjoy it a lot.”
Bless the child, she really is having loads of fun.
Fernandez will square off against Wimbledon semifinalist Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. The No. 2 seed from Belarus dispatched Barbara Krejc iková Tuesday evening, 6-1, 6-4.
Also emerging at this Open, with Serena and Venus Williams unable to participate because of injury, and as top seeds have been vanquished, is a dramatically changing tennis landscape. Another 18-yearold, Toronto-born Brit Emma Raducanu is into the final eight as well, along with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, 18, who knocked off third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas before being forced to retire in the second set against 12th seed Félix Auger-Aliassime late Tuesday.
They’re the new kids on the tennis block.
“I’ve known a few of them from the junior tours. We’ve always talked about and joked around that we’re going to be on the WTA Tour, we’re going to be on the big stage together. I’m just glad that we’re doing such great jobs and doing just that.
“I think we’re all just super hungry to make a difference in the tennis world.”
Auger-Aliassime had his match well in hand, leading 6-3, 6-1, when Alcaraz abandoned with a leg injury. The Spaniard had appeared for the match with heavy taping on that limb, up high, and was coming off back-to-back fivesetters.
Auger-Aliassime was a perfect 11-for-11 in the opening set when getting his first serve in, racing to a 5-2 lead, despite one brutal hold game hauled out from 0-40 to hold. It was the only glimpse at a break point for Alcaraz.
The Montrealer will next confront 25-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev, who booked a spot in the last four at Flushing Meadows for a third consecutive year.