US Open: Leylah's 'extremely superstitious' father will not attend final
Sep 11, 2021
New York [USA], September 11 : Leylah Fernandez's coach and father Jorge will not be at Saturday's US Open final cheering for his daughter in the biggest match of her career as he is 'extremely superstitious'.
19-year-old Fernandez will take on another teenager Emma Raducanu at the Flushing Meadows to decide the women's champion of the US Open. The Canadian has had her hands full since the outset of the Open. Her past four matches have all gone three sets, but those include wins against No.3 Naomi Osaka, three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber, No.5 Elina Svitolina, and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka.
"Yes, I'm extremely superstitious," Jorge told reporters on the eve of the US Open final, as per wtatennis.com. "My daughter is as well."
"It's working, so let's not ruin it. The last time I showed up to a finals it was Acapulco and she lost it. I was hating myself for a good two months afterwards. I didn't really want to talk about it. I didn't want to talk to anybody. They say, C'mon, it's just a game, she made it to the finals, right? C'mon. But inside me it's like, No, I shouldn't have shown up, I shouldn't have been there."
In the semi-final, Fernandez shocked world number two Aryna Sabalenka by 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Meanwhile, Great Britain's Emma Raducanu dominated Maria Sakkari in the semis to win by 6-1, 6-4. The 18-year-old then became the first qualifier, male or female, to ever advance to a major final.
