US Open 2021: Leylah Fernandez becomes 4th Canadian to reach Grand Slam finals

Emerging tennis sensation Leylah Fernandez etched her name in history books after she qualified for the US Open 2021 final with an impressive 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 win over World no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals on Thursday, making her the fourth Canadian player to ever reach a major final.

Before Fernandez, three of her compatriots had made history by sealing a final berth at a Grand Slam final. They include Eugenie Bouchard, Milos Raonic, and Bianca Andreescu.

Bouchard made it to the women's singles final of Wimbledon 2014 where she went down to Petra Kvitová in straight sets. A couple of years later i.e. in 2016,  another Canadian tennis player Milos Raonic successfully made it to the Wimbledon finals (men's singles) but eventually lost to the two-time Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray in the title clash.

Bianca Andreescu became the third Canadian tennis player to make a final appearance in the 2019 US Open and eventually went on to win her first Grand Slam after getting the better of the 23 times Grand Slam winner Serena Williams in the summit clash.

Leylah Fernandez vs Aryna Sabalenka

Leylah Fernandez's journey at the US Open 2021 has been unbelievable as she managed to knock out four seeded players en route to her maiden Grand Slam final. Fernandez's three-set win over Sabalenka was her fourth consecutive three-set victory over a seeded opponent. The 19-year-old has so far accounted for No. 3 Naomi Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 US Open champion after which she defeated Angelique Kerber, the 2016 champion followed by Elina Svitolina and now Sabalenka.

It now remains to be seen whether Leylah Fernandez will become the second Canadian player after Bianca Andreescu to ever win a Tennis Grand Slam event by lifting the US Open trophy on Saturday.