Angelique Kerber failed after a round of 16 drama at the US Open. The 33-year-old tournament winner from 2016 had to admit defeat 6: 4, 6: 7 (5: 7), 2: 6 in a thriller in a thriller on Sunday to the impressive 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez and her dream of the fourth End Grand Slam tournament triumph for the time being.
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Fernandez once again proved to be the scare of the favorites. The left-hander from Montreal had completely surprisingly eliminated defending champion Naomi Osaka from Japan in the third round and now tore the almost certain victory from Kerber’s hands in front of an excited audience in New York.
Instead of Kerber, Fernandez meets Elina Switolina from Ukraine in the round of the best eight and the top German player has to travel home. Kerber’s chances of the big coup had previously increased significantly after both Osaka and world number one Ashleigh Barty were eliminated. But the fearless Fernandez turned out to be too strong.
“It’s like being in a trance”
Kerber had been warned to go into the match against the 73rd in the WTA ranking, Fernandez also announced a hot dance for the Germans. And she stuck to it. In an extremely close duel in the first set, both played up to 4: 4 at eye level, then Kerber, as a more experienced player, proved the better nerves and cheered the set lead.
In the second half, she continued to push the pace, made a break and pulled away to 4: 1. The audience in the Louis Armstrong Stadium cheered the Canadian up again and hoped for excitement – and it should actually occur. Fernandez equalized in a high-class match with great commitment, but Kerber also fought like mad in the cauldron – in the end without luck.
It went into a crucial third sentence. “She looks battered, a bit tired,” said Barbara Rittner on the Eurosport microphone via Kerber. And Fernandez proved, as he did against Osaka, that she can handle a lot of pressure. “It’s like being in a trance, she succeeds in everything,” said Rittner. Kerber had her chances, but had to leave the arena as a loser to great applause.
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