NEW YORK -- Leylah Farandez lost a set and a match against Angelique Kerber, 2016 US Open champion, on Sunday. The scorecard indicated that Fernandez's dream run was likely to come to an abrupt halt.
Fernandez's eyes still sparkled. Fernandez served with abandon, quicker and more precisely. She became more angular in her forehand crosscourt shots. She forced a third set and punched her fist in midair every time she won one point.
Although Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, was defeated in the third round by Osaka, Kerber's third set was her best. Kerber was broken once and twice more. She let out a loud roar and a deep-throated scream each time she broke Kerber, asking the crowd to get more louder. Kerber looked exhausted, while Fernandez seemed the most alive throughout the match.
Fernandez declared, "I'm certainly not surprised by anything that's occurring right now" after Fernandez's thrilling 4-6-7-6 (5) and 6-2 victory against former world No. 1. "I am just glad it's happening now, and not later in this year."
Fernandez reached her first major quarterfinals just one day before her 19th birthday. She was only the fourth Canadian woman to reach this stage at the US Open in Open-era history. Fernandez beat two former world No. Fernandez was crowned the Open era's fourth woman to reach the quarterfinals, beating two former world No. 1s.
Fernandez was just a few sets away from winning a match against Petra Kvitova at the 2020 French Open. This was when her name was first noticed by the tennis world. After winning the match against Osaka in New York, she became an overnight sensation. Now, she has the opportunity to make bigger waves against No. Elina Svitolina, 5th seed, will play on Tuesday.
So, how did Fernandez get here? It all started with her soccer-playing dad and a family who believed in her.
Leylah was born in Montreal to Jorge, an Ecuadorian father and Irene, a Filipino-Canadian mom. She fell in love with the sport when she was just 6. Jorge was there to help her when she needed it. Jorge's philosophy of "Let Go of the Past, Keep Looking Forward, Keep Looking for the Next" influenced the way his daughter played the sport, according to Rennae Stubbs (an ESPN analyst and former player), who spoke with Fernandez and her families.
Jorge didn't have much knowledge about tennis but Leylah, who wanted to take up the sport at 10, was keen. He took inspiration from Richard Williams, Serena's father and coach of Venus Williams, but he knew very little. However, he was able to coach his daughters in tennis, using his soccer knowledge.
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Bianca Andreescu's former coach, Sylvain Bruneau (Team Canada's women’s team captain), told ESPN in December 2020 that she felt that "she was special from the beginning." It was refreshing to see her play with so much energy on the ball and be able to do so many things.
Fernandez's family moved to Florida when Fernandez was 14 years old, and Jorge trained Leylah. Leylah, 16, played in the 2018 Junior French Open. She lost to American Coco Gauff. She won her first major junior title at French Open a year later, after appearing in the quarterfinals of the US Open Juniors. In 2019, she became a professional.
Stubbs stated that the bone-deep belief she holds in herself is "100% her father."
"He is a bit like a military training program, similar to Tiger Woods' father, who once said, "This is how we train, to be great." If you are constantly expressing this, your expectation should be: "Yeah! I've been training to do that."
Jorge's method, coupled with Leylah’s inherent competitiveness created a deadly combination.
Fernandez stated that she knew from a young age that I could beat anyone in front of her. Even though I played different sports, I was always competitive and said, "I'm going against them, I am going against my dad in soccer," even though it's impossible. That's what I have always tried to do in every match I play."
Fernandez has been a breakout player over the last 11 months. Fernandez made her debut by reaching the final of Mexico Open. She then reached the third round at the French Open. The Monterrey Open was won by her without dropping a set throughout the event. She defeated Sloane Stephens and Belinda Bencic, former top-10 players.
"I knew from a young age that I could beat anyone in front of me. Even though I played different sports, I was always competitive and said, "I'm going against them, but I'm going against my dad in soccer," even though it's impossible. That's what I have always tried to do in every match I play." After beating Naomi Osaka, Leylah Fernandez
The third round match at the 2020 French Open in October, when the pandemic was ravaging France, was the moment that took Fernandez to the quarterfinals of the US Open. Fernandez won 5-1 against Kvitova in the first round of the third round match. Kvitova is a two-time Grand Slam champion, and another left-hander on the tour. Fernandez's inexperience combined with Kvitova's speed were too much for Fernandez in a 5-7 and 3-6 loss. One from which she learned.
She stated that the match was the last of the year and gave us an idea of what we should do to prepare for next season. "I would know what to do if I play against [Kvitova] or other players like her in the future," she said to ESPN in December 2020.
Eleven months later, Kerber was up 5-2 in third set against her, another champion left-hander. She knew how to end Kerber off.
Stubbs stated that while I was concerned that Leylah might try to push for too much too soon in the point, because that's how Angie forces you do, the fact that she made smart shots in those moments is a recognition of the training that she has received. "She does the right thing at just the right moment, which is quite remarkable for someone her age.
Kerber was able to see a lot of Fernandez's game, including the deep left-handed serve that draws opponents towards the edge and the first shot following the serve, which is a straight forehand slicer.
Kerber's favorite shot, her forehand down line, is Fernandez's, but she outplayed Fernandez, showing more power and strength than Kerber. Although Kerber is stronger, more defensive-minded, Fernandez plays offense tennis, according to Alexandra Stevenson, a former Wimbledon semifinalist who had a great run of her own in 1999.
Stevenson stated, "In the third sets, you could see that momentum shift and that fronthand, it was very dangerous and as well as her backhand, it was very dangerous." "Leylah's backhand and forehand are strong for a leftie. However, their backhand is weaker than their forehand. She takes over and uses her body to move forward. Her backhand is well-hit.
Jorge taught his daughter one thing that is still very important: A win is not too big. Leylah stated that her first "come back-to-earth moment" was when her family and team asked her to not get too excited about beating Osaka. It was still round three and she still had a lot of work ahead.
Stubbs stated that many times, at age 18 or 19, kids win matches like this and it's the best thing in the universe for them. "So, you need people to surround you... who are able to say, That's great but we have more work to do'. It's important to teach young people this because they don’t have the experience.
If her performance last week is any indication, Fernandez will "put on a spectacle" against Svitolina in the quarterfinals. She is coming off a dominating win against Simona Halep, former French Open and Wimbledon champion. Fernandez and Svitolina met once before, with Svitolina winning in straight set in Monterrey in March 2020. Fernandez's game is dramatically improved.
Svitolina stated that she was impressed by Svitolina's ability to hit the ball well in Monterrey. I saw that she could play great tennis that day. We can see her improvement right now. She began to believe in herself. It's a positive sign that she is playing well, beating Naomi.
Fernandez stated that she has improved her game over the past year. Fernandez knew that it was only a matter of time until everything worked.
