Prosperity Canada’s Leylah Annie Fernandez upsets defending champion Naomi Osaka at U.S. Open

setembro 04, 2021

Prosperity Canada’s Leylah Annie Fernandez upsets defending champion Naomi Osaka at U.S. Open

Prosperity

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez celebrates after winning her 2021 U.S. Open Tennis tournament ladies folk’s singles third round match in opposition to Japan’s Naomi Osaka at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Original York, on Sept. 3, 2021.

ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images

Canadian miniature one Leylah Fernandez has one of the best contain of her younger profession, upsetting No. 3 seed and defending champion Naomi Osaka in the third round of the U.S. Open.

The 18-one year-worn from Laval, Que., came from a space down to beat Osaka 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Friday, pulling off a shocker to come previous the third round of a Immense Slam for the most well-known time.

The 23-one year-worn Osaka had obtained 16 straight Immense Slam fits and became once conserving motivate for a straight items victory earlier than 73rd-ranked Fernandez broke the 2-time U.S. Open champion for the most well-known time forcing a tiebreak.

“I guess I needed to stick to it court docket rather of bit longer. And I needed to placed on a demonstrate for all people right here,” Fernandez stated. “One hour became once no longer ample for me to be on court docket.”

And that’s when Osaka began to solve with a range of mistakes.

Fernandez took support of multiple errors from Osaka in the tiebreak, and would force a third space in opposition to the pissed off four-time Immense Slam winner.

Osaka threw her racket at the very least thrice and became once finally hit with a code violation in the third space when she hit the ball into the stands. She even draped a towel over her head as she took a ruin following her second-space loss.

“In truth, I wasn’t specializing in Naomi,” Fernandez stated. “I became once easiest specializing in myself and what I desired to lift out.”

Fernandez broke Osaka to initiate the third and held motivate for the contain earlier than pumping her fist towards followers that cheered louder for her on every unhurried level.

Fernandez will next face Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champion.

“I’m going to placed on a demonstrate like I did tonight,” Fernandez stated, “and we’re going to see how it goes.”

Osaka became once on the court docket for the most well-known time for the reason that opening night time of the tournament. She bought a walkover into the third round when opponent Olga Danilovic withdrew Wednesday which ability that of illness.

Osaka became once playing her first Immense Slam since she pulled out of the French Open in unhurried May maybe per chance per chance for a psychological neatly being ruin. She also sat out Wimbledon, earlier than collaborating in the Tokyo Olympics, where she lit the cauldron.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime nearly blew a two-space lead earlier than ousting Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round of the males’s plot, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.

The 12th-seeded Aliassime had his motivate working for him early and on occasion to reach the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the second one year in a row.

He opened the match with support-to-support aces, then performed the most well-known game with a third to lift motivate and hasten up 1-0.

The Montrealer had five aces in total in the most well-known space, and 15 thru two, but gave support the following two items earlier than pulling off the victory in three hours 55 minutes.

Auger-Aliassime fired 27 aces in the five-space thriller, while Bautista Agut had correct two.

Unforced errors by Auger-Aliassime saved 33-one year-worn Bautista Agut putting around, with the Canadian making 74 when put next with 31 for his opponent.

The 21-one year-worn Canadian will play either American Frances Tiafoe or fifth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev in the following round.