Leylah Fernandez, a Canadian with Filipino blood, and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Elina Svitolina continued their amazing winning runs and reached the US Open quarterfinals Sunday in New York.
The 18-year-old Fernandez followed her shock upset of 2020 champion Naomi Osaka by eliminating German 16th seed Angelique Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
She will face the fifth seed from Ukraine who beat two-time major winner Simona Halep, 6-3, 6-3, to reach her eighth Grand Slam quarter-final.
“I just tried to use all my trainings from back home,” Fernandez said. “They told me take it point by point. I was glad I was able to execute it.”
She’s not changing anything to face Svitolina.
“That’s going to be a very tough match,” Fernandez said. “She returns a lot of balls. She’s aggressive. I’m just going to go on court and try to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Seven of the top nine women’s seeds reached the last 16 with Osaka and top-ranked Wimbledon champion Ashleigh Barty exiting early.
Svitolina, coming off a WTA title in Chicago, stretched her win streak to nine matches.
“I was really excited,” Svitolina said. “I know how big a fighter is Simona. I had to bring my best game.
“Definitely I have goosebumps right now.”
Meantime, Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev also marched into the quarter-finals on Sunday, where a shock Dutch qualifier will try to deny him a third straight trip to the New York semi-finals.
Medvedev defeated British 24th seed Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, making his fourth trip to the last eight in the past five Grand Slams as he chases his first Slam title.
Medvedev, who lost this year’s Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic and the 2019 US Open final to Rafael Nadal, has not dropped a set in four matches.
“Now I just want to make it to the finals again to have another thing to remember, and hopefully a better one,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev next faces 117th-ranked Botic Van de Zandschulp, who outlasted Argentine 11th seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 5-7, 6-1 in four hours and 20 minutes.
“I don’t really have words for it,” Van de Zandschulp said. “Played so many matches. Some of them I was on the brink of defeat but I pulled through and won them.”
He also matched the best showing by any US Open qualifier, last-eight runs by Frenchman Nicolas Escude in 1999 and Gilles Muller of Luxembourg in 2008.
“First time for me in America and it feels great,” said Van de Zandschulp, who wondered how his homeland is reacting to his run.
“No one expected me to reach the quarter-finals,” he said. “I think they are amazed and hopefully proud.” (AFP)
