Leylah Fernandez continued her spirited run at US Open as she staged a remarkable comeback to knock a former champion out of the Flushing Meadows on Sunday night.
The Canadian teenager stormed into the first Grand Slam quarter-final of her career by defeating No.16 seed and 2016 titlist Angelique Kerber of Germany, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Just as she did against Naomi Osaka in Round 3, Fernandez rode the momentum from a second-set tiebreak to defeat Angelique Kerber in a dominant final set. The youngster fought off a breakpoint while serving at 1-2 in the fourth, then reeled off five straight games to knock off the German.
"The match was incredible," Fernandez reflected in the press as per usopen.org. "I was playing well in the first set. Unfortunately, I did a few mistakes. Her, as a great player, great champion, she noticed and she took advantage of it. I was able to refocus and fight back for the second."
"In the third, I was just enjoying every moment of it. Honestly, the crowd has been amazing, so thanks to them I was able to win," she added.
Fernandez will now face Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals after the Ukrainian took control late in both sets to score a 6-3, 6-3 win over Simona Halep, a two-time major champ herself.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor