U.S. Open final: Tale of the tape — Leylah Fernandez vs. Emma Raducanu
Here’s how the contenders in Saturday’s final match up (4 p.m., TSN4):
Who’s older? Fernandez, born Sept. 6, 2002, is two months older than Raducanu, who will turn 19 on Nov. 13.
Pro debuts: Fernandez had just turned 14 when she made her pro debut in Oct. 2016. She first appeared in the WTA rankings on July 31, 2017 (at No. 1,024). Raducanu played her first pro-level tournament in March, 2018, when she was 15. She first appeared in the rankings on May 28, 2018 (at No. 885).
Rankings disparity: Fernandez came into the Open ranked No. 73; Raducanu at No. 150. Both will be in the top 35 regardless of the outcome Saturday.
Best trophy: Fernandez’s best career moment (until this week) was winning a WTA 250 tournament in Monterrey, Mexico in March. A title at a $25,000 (U.S.) International Tennis Federation tournament in Pune, India in December 2019 is Raducanu’s best so far. There, she also came from the qualifying.
Head to head: Both 15, they met in the second round of junior Wimbledon in 2018, after Fernandez stepped onto a grass court for the first time in her life the previous week at a tune-up tournament in nearby Roehampton. Raducanu won routinely: 6-2, 6-4.
Keys to victory: Fernandez has many more ways to win points with a slice, a drop shot and, perhaps most important, a lefty serve that can pull her opponent out wide. Simply put, she has more game at this stage. And she has more experience in bigger tournaments, even if the British player has already proven she can shine on the sport’s biggest stages.
Raducanu’s stronger side by far is her backhand. In the predominant crosscourt patterns that make up so much of a tennis match, that plays right into Fernandez’s best side, which is her forehand. She also has predictable patterns at this stage. Notably, she predominantly hit slice serves to Maria Sakkari in the semifinals Thursday. But for whatever reason, the Greek player never caught on and covered that shot, and continuously got fooled. Notably, Raducanu has rarely been pushed in her singles matches in New York. The Brit can get frustrated if things aren’t going well. Fernandez’s job is to not let her play, and try to create situations in which that frustration might come out.
If the Canadian continues to hug the baseline and take control of points as she has for a fortnight, she’ll likely win.