Leylah Fernandez celebrates after defeating Angelique Kerber on Sunday in the fourth round of the U.S. Open in New York. John Minchillo/Associated Press
NEW YORK — Raising her right fist overhead to celebrate winner after winner, 18-year-old Leylah Fernandez demonstrated that her upset of defending champion Naomi Osaka at the U.S. Open was certainly no fluke by beating another past title winner at Flushing Meadows.
With grit and guile, and a veteran’s poise in the face of a big deficit against a much more accomplished opponent, the unseeded Fernandez grabbed the last five games to defeat 2016 champion Angelique Kerber 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the fourth round Sunday in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“At the end it, was just two, three points which decide the match,” the 16th-seeded Kerber said. “She took it in her hands.”
Just like against Osaka in Arthur Ashe Stadium two nights earlier, Fernandez dropped the opening set. Just like against Osaka, Fernandez trailed in the second set, too – Kerber led by a break at 4-2.
But for the second match in a row on a big court, the 73rd-ranked Canadian got the crowd on her side, exulting each time she hit one of her on-the-run, impossible-angle groundstrokes. She’d pump a fist. She’d windmill her arms. And she got to do so repeatedly, ending up with a 45-28 edge in winners.
How does Fernandez remain steady in these tight matches against foes who’ve been through these sorts of moments much more than she has?
“I honestly don’t know,” Fernandez said. “I just try to use all my training from back home. They told me to take it point by point and that’s what I tried to focus on. I was glad I was able to execute it.”
Fernandez is a left-hander who redirects opponent’s shots swiftly and seemingly with ease, sometimes dropping to a knee near the baseline to get the proper leverage. That’s a very similar style to the one Kerber used to reach No. 1 in the rankings and claim three Grand Slam titles.
“She’s always … enjoying her tennis out there,” Kerber said. “I think she can go really far in the next few years.”
Kerber would know. She has won more matches at the U.S. Open – and at all Grand Slam tournaments – than any other woman in the draw. She is 33 and has been playing well enough to get to the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
But she could not stay with Fernandez and seemed bothered by it, looking over at her guest box with arms spread apart while muttering something in the final game.
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. Svitolina, the Olympic bronze medalist, beat two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3.
“Hopefully,” Fernandez told the Armstrong crowd, “you guys will all be there cheering me on, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Fernandez is 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.
Botic Van de Zandschulp hits a return Sunday during his five-set victory over Diego Schwartzman. John Minchillo/Associated Press
Earlier Sunday, Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands became just the third male qualifier to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals in the Open era.
Van de Zandschulp continued his out-of-nowhere run, beating No. 11 Diego Schwartzman, 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1.
Never heard of van de Zandschulp?
Well, there’s good reason: Before the U.S. Open, the ninth-year pro had only five tour-level wins, was never ranked higher than 117 in the world and had never advanced past the second round in a Grand Slam tournament.
Look at him now, his U.S. Open streak an unqualified success for the little-know qualifier.
“His tactic today was working perfectly,” Schwartzman said. “Maybe I had luck in the third and fourth to continue playing the match today because he was playing better than me.”
Van de Zandschulp should enjoy the run while he can. His next match is against No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, who cruised into the U.S. Open quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Daniel Evans.
Medvedev has yet to drop a set on his way to the quarterfinals for the third straight year.
The 25-year-old van de Zandschulp had already knocked out No. 8 seed Casper Ruud in the second round. He dropped the first set in each of his first three matches before reversing the trend against Schwartzman.
September 06, 2021 at 01:51AM
https://www.pressherald.com/2021/09/05/u-s-open-little-known-dutch-qualifier-reaches-quarterfinals/
U.S. Open: Little-known Dutch qualifier reaches men's quarterfinals - pressherald.com
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.