New York: Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez continued her US Open dream run on Tuesday by storming into her first Grand Slam semifinal with a battling 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over Ukrainian fifth seed Elina Svitolina.
It was yet another upset win for Fernandez but hardly a shock considering she had already knocked out four-time major champion Naomi Osaka in the third round and three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber in the fourth.
If there was any lingering worry that the fearless Canadian would buckle under the mounting pressure, Fernandez removed it by prevailing in a nerve-jangling third set tie-break 7-5 to clinch a spot in the last four.
Rated one of the best players yet to win a major, Svitolina might have fancied her chances of returning to the US Open semifinals against a 73rd ranked teen.
But Fernandez, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Monday, has shown that she is no ordinary teenager after registering a string of upsets that have made her a Flushing Meadows darling.
The confident Canadian has played to the raucous crowd, using their energy to help fuel a charge into the last eight and the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd was once again in her corner on Tuesday.
World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka bulldozed her way past Barbora Krejcikova 6-1, 6-4 to reach the US Open semifinal for the first time.
Sabalenka had three double faults in the first game at Arthur Ashe Stadium but still managed to hold serve, then came back in the second game to break a listless Krejcikova, who had just five winners in the first set and struggled badly with her serve.
Krejcikova, who captured her maiden major at Roland Garros this year, saw her serve broken at the start of the second set and while she got a bit of her spark back as the match went on it was too little, too late.
Belarusian Sabalenka, who reached the semifinal at Wimbledon, won eight of the first 10 points in the second set and did not face a single break point after fending off five of the six she faced in the first set.
She closed out the match after one hour and 26 minutes with an ace and beamed at the cheering New York crowd.
"I’m really enjoying my game here and every second on this court," said Sabalenka.
