September 06, (THEWILL) – The ongoing US Open in New York has seen a set of teenagers, in the male and female singles events, stake a claim for recognition and the Canadian Leylah Fernandez did that again as she beat 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals.
It was a continuation of her impressive progress at the final major of the year after she knocked out tennis world number three Naomi Osaka. She scaled over Kerber on the eve of her 19th birthday, after losing the first and winning the third set through a tie-break in the second.
Immediately she battled back from a tightly fought 4-2 deficit in the second set to reach that tie-break, she never looked back. But, it was a tight contest from the beginning. The teenager had started brightly against her more experienced opponent as an indication of things to come.
Yet, the early lead Fernandez had managed slipped as Kerber asserted control of the first set to take it 6-4. Fernandez put her first-set disappointment behind her and settled for a more challenging second set.
Kerber, a former world number one, applied her dominant forehand to great effect in the second set but she too let a break go, with the left-handed Fernandez hitting a scorching winner out of the air to force the set to 4-4 to keep herself in the competition.
It was Kerber who forced a tie-break when she saved a set point. The momentum was on the side of Fernandez and she recognized it by racing through to a 5-1 lead in the tie-break. And it was Kerber again who lost the tie-break after sending a volley long to hand over the set to Fernandez.
A decider became necessary as Fernandez grew in confidence. Kerber, who had a reputation of being one of the best defenders in the women’s game, could not match the pressure the teenager brought to bear in the third set. As Kerber’s energy faded, Fernandez broke her once again to take the set 6-2.
The Canadian doubled over as her victory was confirmed, before she was given a standing ovation by a full crowd on Louis Armstrong Stadium. She had done enough to go through and will now face Elina Svitolina for a place in the semi-finals. Svitolina is on a nine-match unbeaten streak after her 6-3 6-3 victory over Simona Halep.
In her on-court interview after defeating Kerber, Fernandez said: “I was just glad I was having fun on the court,” Fernandez said. I have been working hard since the day I started playing tennis and the day I set my mind to being a professional.
“I expected that one day my tennis game is going to come through and that I’m going to be on the big stage in front of a big crowd and getting the wins.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
