For the second time in three years, a 19-year-old Canadian is through to the US Open final. Bianca Andreescu famously went on to win the title against Serena Williams, and it would be no surprise if her successor, Leylah Fernandez, followed suit. The two women may go about their business in very different ways, but the similarities are evident in the blend of irresistible talent, steely self-belief and fearless shot-making with which Fernandez has bewitched opponents and bedazzled the New York crowd.
Aryna Sabalenka became the latest player to fall under the teenager’s spell, the world No 2 slowly succumbing to her inner demons as she saw a blistering start evaporate in the face of Fernandez’s seemingly boundless resilience and tenacity. The scar tissue from her 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4 defeat will take some time to heal.
For a quarter of an hour, Sabalenka was unplayable. Slamming down serves at speeds touching 120mph and smoking winners off both sides, the second seed peppered the Fernandez backhand with shots of ferocious weight and velocity. With three games gone, Sabalenka had hit nine winners, made every first serve and committed no unforced errors, allowing Fernandez just two points. With a quarter of an hour gone, she was 4-1 up and looking virtually uncatchable. At this tournament of the teenagers, experience was finally having a moment.
Then, out of nowhere, Fernandez sparked into life. Aces flew as she held to love with an urgency and authority that seemed to unsettle Sabalenka, who immediately fell 0-40 down on her serve, bookending a disastrous game with her first double faults of the match. Further tension was apparent when the Belarusian visibly tightened up on a forehand to miss a set point at 6-5. In the ensuing tiebreak, a nervy missed overhead was followed by another double fault, and with the crowd firmly behind her Fernandez completed a remarkable turnaround.
“She started incredibly well in the beginning,” said Fernandez, who will face fellow teenager Emma Raducanu in the final after the British qualifier beat Maria Sakkari, the 17th seed, 6-1, 6-4. “I’m just glad I was able to stay patient, fight for every point. I was glad in the tie-breaker I was able to be offensive but not overly, playing and go for my shots. The second set I had my chances, but I did a few mistakes. She jumped on the opportunity to get the set. In the third, it was just a good battle. We went till the end. I was glad I was able to put that one more ball back in.”
Sabalenka has struggled to reproduce the dominant form she shows most weeks of the year at the majors. She looked to have turned a corner when she finally progressed beyond the fourth round of a slam for the first time to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon, and as the highest seed left standing at Flushing Meadows, many observers felt she looked ready to take the next step.
That looked unlikely when, midway through the second set, she furiously obliterated a racket at the change of ends as Fernandez calmly munched on a banana, but a more conservative approach earned her a decisive break in the ninth game. Having levelled the match, however, further frustration was to follow for Sabalenka, who recovered a break in the decider only to implode as she served to stay in the contest.
“I’m a little bit disappointed about this match because, as I said, I had a lot of opportunities and I didn’t use it,” said Sabalenka. “Well, this is life. If you’re not using your opportunities, someone else will use it. This is what happened today. I will try to improve it. I will keep working and fighting, and I believe that one day it will come.”