Félix bows out, Leylah goes for glory at U.S. Open,
Fernandez and Raducanu offer glimpse of sport’s future, and throwback to past
NEW YORK—There will be not one but two Cinderellas attending the U.S. Open women’s final ball Saturday.
Emma Raducanu, just 18 and ranked No. 150 on the WTA Tour, was born in Toronto of a Romanian father and Chinese mother. She moved to the United Kingdom at age two, but still has a Canadian passport.
Montreal-born Leylah Fernandez, ranked No. 73, turned 19 on Monday. The trilingual Fernandez is the product of a firstgeneration Canadian mother of Filipino descent and a father who emigrated from Ecuador as a child. For the last three years, she has lived in Florida.
It’s a true melting-pot finale, emblematic of a global game in which where
you’re born isn’t necessarily where you’re from, or where you’re going next. And this improbably youthful clash hearkens back to the 1980s and 1990s, when fresh-faced, teen champs were the norm and not the exception.
It will be the first Grand Slam tournament final with two unseeded women, and the first with two teens since 17year-old Serena Williams defeated 18year-old Martina Hingis for the 1999 U.S. Open title.
On Thursday night, Fernandez became the youngest Grand Slam finalist since 17year-old Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004. About 90 minutes later, she was supplanted by Raducanu, two months younger.
It’s all rather surreal.
“I think one word that really stuck to me is ‘magical,’ because not only is my run really good but also the way I’m playing right now,” Fernandez said after Thursday’s 7-6 (3) 4-6, 6-4 victory over world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. “I’m just having fun. I’m trying to produce something for the crowd to enjoy.”
How has she done it? The young woman herself has no idea. Ultimately, it has been a serendipitous, perfect storm.
The New York crowd is famous for getting behind the underdog. Fernandez, diminutive and demonstrative, is the perfect prototype.
And one thing is certain: There have been no shortcuts for either player.
Raducanu has had the longer road. With her current ranking, she had to win three qualifying matches just to earn a spot in the main draw. So she has already played eight singles matches. And only the past two, against No. 11 seed and Olympic gold-medallist Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals and No. 17 seed Maria Sakkari in the semifinals, came against players ranked inside the top 40.
But, if her list of conquests wasn’t quite the WTA top tier, it is equally true Raducanu has been a buzz saw. In those eight matches, she has yet to drop a set. “I always had dreams of playing in Grand Slams, but I just didn’t know when they would come,” Raducanu said after the near-effortless 6-1, 6-4 win over Sakkari. “To come this early, at this point in my career — I’ve only really been on tour for a month, two months since Wimbledon — it’s pretty crazy to me.”
Meanwhile, Fernandez dealt with the most daunting of draws. Her first two opponents — Ana Konjuh and Kaia Kanepi, both former top-20 players now ranked lower because of injuries — possess the power that has always been effective against the left-hander, who is generously listed at five-footsix. Simply put, they didn’t play very well. And Fernandez was there to capitalize.
Then came two-time champion Naomi Osaka, the hardest hitter of them all.
But the Osaka who appeared on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the third round was a shadow of her best self. Indeed, after the 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 defeat, the 23-yearold announced she was taking an indefinite break from the game. Still, Osaka served for the match in the second set. The Fernandez fairy tale might well have ended, rather respectably, at that point.
After that came victories over former No. 1 Angelique Kerber and stalwart top-10 player Elina Svitolina, the No. 5 seed. In both matches, Fernandez was in plenty of trouble, but managed to find solutions. And her more experienced opponents wobbled co-operatively.
By the time the Canadian played Sabalenka, the momentum born of that confidence was in full flight. And the Belarusian simply wasn’t up to countering it.
If Fernandez wins this most improbable of maiden Grand Slam titles, she will rise to the top 20 in the rankings.
She would also knock Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champ, out of the top 20 and be the new Canadian No. 1.
Both Fernandez and Raducanu are already guaranteed $1.25 million (U.S.) in prize money for reaching the final. The winner will double that to $2.5 million.
It’s a lot, on every level. And it’s just the beginning.