French Open: Leylah Fernandez with regained balance in the quarterfinals
Leylah Fernandez has reached the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career at the 2022 French Open. After tough weeks after the US Open 2021, the Canadian has now found her balance.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
May 29, 2022, 10:05 pm
The great story of Leylah Fernandez almost got lost at the US Open 2021. The title win of final opponent Emma Raducanu at the last major event of the previous year was too blatant, too surprising, too sensational. But Leylah Fernandez also made something of a breakthrough at this tournament.
The weeks that followed showed the young Canadian that such an exceptional tournament not only has positive side effects. The 19-year-old repeatedly suffered early defeats, for example at the Australian Open, where Fernandez had to give up in the first round. The only positive outlier: winning the title at the WTA 250 event in Monterrey at the end of February.
Fernandez put pressure on himself
But now the 19-year-old has slowly but surely found her way back to her top form - and reached the quarter-finals at the French Open. With a tour de force against Amanda Anisimova, mind you. "It was a very tough game today, a great game for both of us. I think we both played at a high level," said the teenager. You see a steady improvement in yourself and your game, Fernandez emphasized.
It wasn't always that easy, especially since the 19-year-old put herself under pressure after her final run at the US Open: "After the US Open I put pressure on myself, especially in my game. I wanted to be more offensive , more aggressive, improve my tennis as soon as possible," said Fernandez. That has now changed. "I think I understood that there is a process, that the year is very, very long and that I have to calm down and relax, relax my mind and accept that things are going to be difficult."
However, the Canadian still has the feeling that she has to "prove" something to the world with her performances. Precisely because she is convinced that she still has a lot up her sleeve. "That's ultimately my main goal: to do well in every game. And I think that mentality helped me understand that I can continue to compete in the right way and play in the right direction."