Giant-killer Leylah eliminates Kerber at US Open
New York: Leylah Fernandez is a self-described “happy-go-lucky girl” having the time of her life at Flushing Meadows, raising her fists, pumping her arms and riling up crowds while beating two past U.S. Open champions to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. A day before her 19th birthday, the unseeded left-hander from Canada grabbed the […]
New York: Leylah Fernandez is a self-described “happy-go-lucky girl” having the time of her life at Flushing Meadows, raising her fists, pumping her arms and riling up crowds while beating two past U.S. Open champions to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
A day before her 19th birthday, the unseeded left-hander from Canada grabbed the last five games to eliminate 2016 title winner Angelique Kerber 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Sunday, demonstrating that an earlier upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka was certainly no fluke.
With grit and guile, plus a veteran’s poise in the face of big deficits against much more accomplished opponents, Fernandez is displaying strokes and a demeanor that left Kerber offering this assessment: “She can go really far in the next few years.” How about over the next week?
There’s no time like the present for the teens in tennis: Also into the quarterfinals with a win Sunday was Carlos Alcaraz, an 18-year-old from Spain who became the youngest man to get that far at the U.S. Open since 1963 by outlasting his 32-year-old foe, 141st-ranked qualifier Peter Gojowczyk of Germany, 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.
Alcaraz now plays No. 12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 21-year-old from Canada who reached his second straight major quarterfinal by defeating Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-4 with the help of 24 aces.
“At some point, age is just a number,” Auger-Aliassime when asked about Alcaraz.
“He already feels like a player that is established.”
The 55th-ranked Alcaraz got past No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in his previous match and is the youngest player with two five-set Grand Slam wins in a row since Michael Chang was 16 at the 1988 U.S. Open.
There’s yet another 18-year-old in fourth-round action Monday: Emma Raducanu of Britain, who plays Shelby Rogers of the U.S.
Ask Fernandez for the secret to her success, and she repeatedly mentions two factors. One is being sure to enjoy her time on court. The other is support of family, because her father, who is from Ecuador, her mother, who is Filipino Canadian, and her sisters “have definitely kept the joy for me.”
She credits Dad — who coaches her and has been offering instructions in daily phone calls while back home, taking care of a younger sibling — and Mom — who is leading the cheers with other family members and Fernandez’s fitness trainer in courtside seats — with teaching a valuable lesson that has nothing to do with tennis.
Now Fernandez, who only once had been as far as the third round at a major tournament until now, will meet No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. Another women’s matchup Tuesday will be No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka against two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza or 2021 French Open champ Barbora Krejcikova.
Fernandez and Alcaraz are among several fresh faces making moves at this most tumultuous of U.S. Opens, where the question at the start of each day has become, “Who will pull off a surprise?” — and there tend to be multiple answers by each night.
Consider Botic van de Zandschulp also part of Sunday’s group. He’s a 25-year-old Dutchman ranked 117th who became just the third male qualifier to get to the quarterfinals at Flushing Meadows since the Open era began in 1968.
As it is, only nine seeded men made it to Week 2, the fewest at the U.S. Open since 2005, and van de Zandschulp reduced the total by one with a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 victory over No. 11 Diego Schwartzman in 4 hours, 20 minutes.
Next for van de Zandschulp comes No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, while Alcaraz will go up against No. 12 Felix Auger-Aliassime or Frances Tiafoe.
“Before the tournament,” van de Zandschulp observed, “no one expected me to reach the quarterfinals here.” Seems fair. And applies to players such as Fernandez and Alcaraz, too.
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