The upsets keep coming at this year's
US Open, as 2021 runner-up
Leylah Fernandez was ousted by
Liudmila Samsonova on Wednesday night.
Samsonova played some of the best tennis of her career in the 6-3 7-6(3) victory, relying on her powerful serve to disrupt the Canadian's rhythm. The World No.35 was coming off a championship run in Cleveland last week, and kept her momentum going as she powered past Fernandez.
Employing her huge serve as her primary weapon, Samsonova hit 10 aces to zero double faults. Furthermore, the 23-year old never faced a break point, winning an astounding 81% of points behind her first serve and finishing at the net 8 out of 10 times.
Despite the crowd cheering on last year's finalist, Fernandez was unable to overcome her in-form opponent. The 14th seed had missed time since the French open due to a foot fracture, and looked slightly rusty as she was made to scramble by her opponent. Samsonova sealed her victory after an hour and 45 minutes, increasing her winning streak to seven straight matches.