THE first two US Open semi-finalists have been decided, with two huge quarter final clashes proving that no results are a given at this stage of the competition. While second seed Aryna Sabalenka ultimately coasted through to her second grand slam semi final, it was a completely different story in the opening match of the day for teen Leylah Fernandez, as the fresh 19-year-old staved off of a comeback to clinch a three set victory.

It was a huge upset off the hand of Fernandez that set tongues wagging, defying fifth seed Elina Svitolina and clinching an impressive 6-3 3-6 7-6(5) victory. While the talented teen came out flying, Svitolina has been in excellent form of late and proved she would not go down with out a fight, biting back in the second to clinch the set and force a decider. But one again it was Fernandez who came out strong, firing up to lead 5-2 and just inches away from a semi-final berth. Svitolina’s experience and hunt came to the fore though, hauling her way back into the match to level at 5-5 despite being just two points away (30-30) from defeat throughout each game.

It was the teen who steadied as the deciding tiebreak rolled around, building off an excited crowd and edging her way ahead to take out the two hour and 24-minute match in remarkable fashion. While Svitolina fired off eight aces, winning 72 per cent of her first serve points off a 65 per cent clip, she was shaky off her second serve which Fernandez latched onto, firing winners as Svitolina’s serving energy drained. Fernandez actually won two less points overall throughout the clash but made her little wins count, hitting 42 winners to Svitolina’s 32 and forcing errors from the Ukrainian.

“Today’s match was definitely one of the hardest, not only tennis-wise but also mentally and emotionally,” Fernandez said post-match. “Svitolina is a great player, great fighter. I was glad I was able to fight in the first set. In the second set she upped her level and I unfortunately made a few mistakes on key moments.

“I’m glad I was able to recuperate for the third set. The tiebreak, too. A little bit lucky at 5-5, but I’ll take all the luck I can get. I was glad I was able to push through the finish line.”

“For today and this match, I was only thinking of trusting myself, trusting my game,” Fernandez said. “After every point, win or lose, I would always tell myself, trust my game, go for my shots, just see where the ball goes.”

Fernandez has broken a couple of impressive hoodoos with this win, on an individual level winning her first tour-level third set tiebreak and on the greater stage, becoming the youngest US Open semi-finalist since 18-year-old Maria Sharapova in 2005 – a title she could hold if fellow youngster Emma Raducanu does not make it through to the semis following her quarter final tomorrow. Fernandez is also just the third Canadian to make the semi finals at the US Open, following in the footsteps of Carling Bassett-Seguso (1984) and Bianca Andreescu (2019), with the latter crowned eventual champion.

Sabalenka was convincing in a straight sets win over eighth seed and 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova, downing the Czech talent 6-1 6-4 in a tick under 90 minutes. With more winners (22-14) and less unforced errors (23-29), Sabalenka rarely looked like losing as she sped through an impressive first set, staving off any chance of a comeback off the racket of Krejcikova.

“It means a lot. I love to be in New York, and the US Open is one of my favorite Slams,” Sabalenka said. “I watched her matches and saw that she is playing really well. She’s really consistent this year. I tried to focus on myself and tried to put as many balls back in play as I could. I think it worked really well today.”

The Czech was shaky on serve, with just a 38 per cent success rate off her first serve and only winning 57 per cent of those points, while Sabalenka was never in doubt on serve winning 76 per cent of points off her first serve off a 57 per cent clip. The Belarusian also won over half of Krejcikova’s serve points and only faced four break points throughout the clash, losing just one.

US OPEN QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[2] Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) defeated [8] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-1 6-4
Leylah Fernandez (CAN) defeated [5] Elina Svitolina (UKR) 6-3 3-6 7-6

Picture credit: Darren Carroll/USTA