Canadas Leylah Fernandez reaches US Open semifinals

Canada's Leylah Fernandez continued her remarkable run at the U.S. Open in New York on Tuesday, earning a spot in the semifinals with an upset victory over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

The 19-year-old from Laval, Que., held on through some difficult stretches to post a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) win over the tournament's No. 5 seed.

Fernandez broke Svitolina midway through the first set and won four of 10 break points across the match spanning two hours and 24 minutes.

Svitolina, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics last month, had eight aces and won 72 per cent of her first-serve points. But the Canadian remained patient and agile, dashing across the court to place shots just beyond her opponent's reach.

"She did a lot of things well," ESPN tennis analyst Pam Shriver said about Fernandez. "Her lefty serve is causing a lot of awkward return positions where Svitolina just struggled in the first set.

WATCH | Fernandez defeats Svitolina:

Leylah Annie Fernandez soars into U.S. Open semifinals2 hours agoOne day after her 19th birthday, Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., upset world No. 5 Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) to advance to the U.S. Open semifinals. 6:52

"How quickly Fernandez takes the ball on the baseline is causing problems for people [and] the angles she's able to come up with on both the forehand and the backhand."

Fernandez, currently ranked No. 73 in the world, also beat stars Naomi Osaka of Japan in the third round and Germany's Angelique Kerber in the fourth.

She'll face either No. 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic or No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the semifinals.

Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 12 seed, is set to face Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's semifinals later Tuesday.

WATCH | Fernandez takes U.S. Open by storm:

Canadian Leylah Fernandez takes U.S. Open by storm2 days agoAt 18 years old, Canadian Leylah Fernandez has taken the U.S. Open by storm with major upset wins over Naomi Osaka and Angelique Kerber and advancing to the quarter finals. 2:04

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