For only the second time in tennis history, two Canadians have reached the semifinals of the same major. On Tuesday, Leylah Annie-Fernandez of Montreal, Quebec continued her remarkable run at the 2021 United States Open by upsetting the fifth-seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in women’s singles, while Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec defeated Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, 6-3, 3-1, before Alcaraz had to retire with a right adductor injury.
Fernandez dictated play in her victory over Svitolina, the 2019 Wimbledon and United States Open semifinalist. Fernandez had 42 winners compared to Svitolina’s 32, while Fernandez continued her success at the net, winning 19 of 24 points, for an impressive 79%. Fernandez will now play the second-seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist, who beat the 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Auger-Aliassime meanwhile was only on court for one hour and eight minutes. It was the serve that was the difference here, as Auger-Aliassime had eight aces, compared to only one for Alacaraz. Auger-Aliassime will now face the second-seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the semifinals. Medvedev defeated Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5. The third set was the first set Medvedev lost in the tournament. Medvedev defeated Auger-Aliassime in their only prior meeting in the second round of the 2018 Rogers Cup in Toronto, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6.
The only other time two Canadians reached the semifinals of a major was Wimbledon in 2014. Seven years ago Eugenie Bouchard of Montreal, Quebec reached the final before losing to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, and Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario reached the final before losing to Roger Federer of Switzerland.
