"Today was one of the hardest matches" says Fernandez after upsetting Svitolina at US Open

The Canadian teenager pulled off several upsets during her run to the semifinal strictly by sticking to her games and being extremely brave in the most important moments of the match. That allowed her to come back and win against Osaka, to upset Kerber and now Svitolina. Despite seemingly enjoying every moment of the match, Fernandez admitted it was hard both physically and mentally:

"Today's match was definitely one of the hardest, not only tennis-wise but also mentally and emotionally. Svitolina is a great player, great fighter. I was glad I was able to fight in the first set. In the second set, she upped her level and I, unfortunately, made a few mistakes on key moments."

Fernandez served for the match at 5-4 in the final set but lost her serve after some great shot-making by Svitolina. Even so, the teenager never gave up on her aggressive play and bravery which allowed her to win the match with 7-5 in the tiebreak. On that she said:

"I'm glad I was able to recuperate for the third set. The tiebreak, too. A little bit lucky at 5-5, but I'll take all the luck I can get. I was glad I was able to push through the finish line. For today and this match, I was only thinking of trusting myself, trusting my game. After every point, win or lose, I would always tell myself, trust my game, go for my shots, just see where the ball goes."