‘Never seen anything like it, ever’: US Open stunned as giant-killing teen does it again

It’s been dubbed the match of the tournament and rightfully so.

In a huge upset at Flushing Meadows, Canadian teenager Leylah Annie Fernandez defeated world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 4-6 6-4 to book her spot in the US Open final.

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Ranked No. 73 in the world, the 19-year-old is suddenly one victory away from being a grand slam champion.

“I tried to be magic on court from a very young age ... putting a show on for everyone,” Fernandez told ESPN. “To trust my game ... I just looked over at my box and they said everything is going to be OK. And it was.”

ESPN commentator Chris Fowler praised Fernandez’s “unearthly poise” while tennis legend Chrissie Evert said: “I’ve never seen anything like this on Ashe (Arthur Ashe Stadium), ever.”

Fernandez was fearless throughout the two-hour semi-final, refusing to back down in face of adversity. She becomes the youngest player to defeat three top-five players at a major since Serena Williams accomplished the feat at the 1999 US Open.

Sabalenka is the latest victim of Fernandez’s giant-killing run. The teen sensation had already knocked out four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, three-time major winner Angelique Kerber and No. 5 seed Elina Svitolina.

Sabalenka has been in career-best form this year, having put in so much work. She reached her maiden grand slam semi-final at Wimbledon — the first time she’d ever made it further than the fourth round at a major.

The 23-year-old was hoping to go a step further in New York but fell short.

Sabalenka broke serve to got up 4-1 in the first set, much to the dismay of the New York spectators. Fernandez has proven a fan favourite at the US Open and the crowd made no attempt to hide who it was supporting.

At one stage in the opening set, there was rapturous applause in response to a double fault from Sabalenka.

The crowd’s assistance worked for Fernandez, who managed to put the set back on serve and forced a tiebreak, which she won comfortably.

Sabalenka immediately hit back by breaking serve early in the second set, before the Canadian once again tied up the scores with a well-directed backhand slice.

When Fernandez took a 3-2 lead in the second set, Sabalenka took her frustration out on a racquet, repeatedly smashing it on the ground. But the Belarusian showed her class to once again break serve and claim the second set, with the contest heading towards a thrilling conclusion.

The opening five games of the third set remained on serve, but an unforced error from Sabalenka save Fernandez a critical break. The Canadian managed to save three break points soon after before Sabalenka prevailed to put the decisive set back on serve.

But Sabalenka showed signs of fatigue as the match approached its conclusion, and a couple of double faults gifted Fernandez three match points. The teenager made no mistake, sinking to the ground in disbelief.

With AFP