US OPEN

September 5, 2021

Leylah Fernandez

Press Conference

L. FERNANDEZ/A. Kerber

4-6, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Would you please give us your thoughts on today's match.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: The match was incredible. I was playing well in the first set. Unfortunately I did a few mistakes. Her, as a great player, great champion, she noticed and she took advantage of it. I was able to refocus and fight back for the second.

In the third, I was just enjoying every moment of it. Honestly, the crowd has been amazing, so thanks to them I was able to win.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. 2-4 down in the second set, could you talk about exactly what was going on in your mind at that point?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Honestly, I think it started at 1-3, like that service game that I did definitely helped a lot, build up the confidence, get the confidence back. I was just trusting my game that everything is going to go well.

At 3-4, I don't know if it was just a mindset or it was a feeling, but I just felt like that was the moment that I was going to break her serve and I was able to figure it out. I was just glad I was having fun on the court. I was trusting my game at 100%.

Q. Do you feel the age helped you in the third set, the young energy?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Maybe. I don't know. I was honestly tired in the third set, but with that thought, I was telling myself, like, If I'm tired, she must be exhausted. Just try to put one more ball back in as much as possible. Like I said, trust my game that everything is going to work out.

Q. Your family was sitting right there on courtside, very loud obviously, right next to you. Do you ever tell them to chill out or is it difficult to work under those circumstances?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, first of all, the gentleman that's in the box beside my mom is not my father. He's my fitness coach. My dad is actually back home with my younger sister. He's been calling every day, telling me what to do, so it's been great.

Having them cheering me on every point has been very helpful. In those tough moments when I'm feeling down, with their positivity I was able to get back into it and forget about the mistake that I just did. Keep fighting, keep pushing through. Just, like I said, have fun on the court and trusting my game.

Q. Angie said that she felt almost like she was playing a mirror at certain moments, that your serve and first shot were very similar to what she tries to do. As a fellow lefty, how much did you look at her game as a template or anybody else in terms of kind of figuring out the matchup?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, we have definitely watched her play a lot, especially used her as an example, the way she used her slice out wide and then go down the line right away on the open court, that she's definitely been an example for us.

I tried to do that against her. I was glad that it worked. Like I said, I was just trusting my game. She's an incredible fighter, incredible player. Just putting one more ball back in, fighting, and just having fun on the court (smiling).

Q. You mentioned your dad. You said when you talk to him he tells you what to do. Is that on the court, off the court? What sorts of things do you hear from him? Also, you talk a lot about having fun out there and I'm wondering, is that something that always has been the case for you, that comes easily, somebody reminds you, Don't forget, have fun out there? If you could explain that a little bit, that mindset.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, my dad, he would tell me what to do, like for tennis-wise, just give me a game plan, and I try to execute it as much as possible. Since he's back home, he's just telling me what to do in the day before, and then he trusts in me and in my game that I'm going to execute it as much as I can.

Having fun on the court, I think that's the key to anybody's success, especially mine, that if I'm not happy or I'm putting too much pressure on myself, I start making mistakes and I'm not enjoying myself. But these past few weeks I have been enjoying myself a lot on the tennis court, and that's been a mindset of mine from the very beginning that not only my dad but also my mom has been telling me to do so that I can enjoy this life.

I chose this profession and I want to enjoy it as much as possible and have fun, is just one of the biggest keys that I have.

Q. I'm sure the emotions from today are still quite fresh. How different are they from after beating Naomi?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: They are exactly the same (smiling). I'm just super happy. I'm going to enjoy tonight as much as I can, and then once I'm off to bed, I'll try to forget about it so that I can get ready for tomorrow.

Q. You have beaten two great champions in a row. How do these matches differ for you? Did you take different things away from them?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, I think the biggest difference is that one is left-hander, and the other one is a right-handed player, but I just approached the match the same. They are another player, they are great champions, I'm just going to go out there and fight for every point.

Then after the match, I was just super, super happy, and I'm glad I'm able to celebrate it with the crowd. I'm glad I can celebrate it with my family later tonight.

Q. A tactical thing?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, just a tactical thing.

Q. What has surprised you most during this experience?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Honestly, I don't know what surprised me most. I have been working hard every day since the day I started playing tennis and since the day I set my mind to being a professional.

I expected that one day my tennis game is going to come through and that I'm going to be on the big stage in front of a big crowd playing against big players and also getting the wins.

I'm not surprised of anything that's happening right now. I'm just glad that it's happening now and not later in the year, but we are just going to enjoy this time and take this one day at a time.

Q. You have beaten two US Open champions. Are you pinching yourself? You're so level-headed and calm about it. It's not every day someone is going to beat two US Open champions at the US Open tournament.

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah, I did have to pinch myself a little bit to see that it actually happened, but like I said, I knew that my tennis, my level of tennis is there. It's just a moment of time, opportunity, and I'm glad that I was able to get this opportunity now and that I was able to showcase what I can do in front of these players.

Even if I would have lost, I would have been proud of myself with the way that I played, the way that I fought. I was lucky enough to get the win today and just getting this experience. It's my first fourth-round quarterfinals in a Grand Slam. I'm just going to enjoy it at 100%, and tomorrow is going to be a new day.

Q. Some may feel that the circuit is so tough, so grim sometimes. What is this about the magic of your journey and what happens? Can you just talk a little bit more about how have you been able to sustain that?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, no, I think from a very young age I'm just a happy-go-lucky girl. I never really take things too seriously or some things too hard. But I was just having fun on anything and everything that I do.

You know, during the past year with all the difficulties around the world, I was lucky enough to have my family, my sisters, they were amazing and super supportive. Every time I'm feeling down, they were always there to bring me back up. My younger sister, she makes me laugh all the time, so I think it's also thanks to her that she's the one that helped me getting, being the person that I am today, being so happy, being so carefree.

I think sometimes the way that my parents would teach me off court, saying that you can't take things too seriously, you've got to be mature but at the same time just be a kid, let loose, have fun, eat chocolate when you want to, and just have fun, watch movies, go past your bedtime.

But just the support of my family and of my sisters, they have definitely kept the joy for me.

Q. Speaking of chocolate, what are you going to do for your birthday tomorrow?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, tomorrow I'll be focusing on the doubles match, but today I think we're just going to have a nice little dinner with my team and my family here in New York.

I'm glad that my older sister and her fiance and also my cousin was able to come and watch my match, so we are just going to go celebrate at a nice Italian restaurant we have been going to every night.

Q. I hear that your father is not here, because your father's name is Jorgé and he's not here at the Open?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes.

Q. He was a soccer player, right? I think he was very influential in you about how to approach mentally the games, right?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes, definitely. Unfortunately my dad couldn't come to the US Open. He decided to stay back, but he has his reasons, and obviously his reasons are working tremendously right now (smiling).

But, yeah, he played soccer. He wouldn't tell me about his career or anything soccer-related when he played. I don't know why, but I think he just wanted me to enjoy tennis and just not have the pressure.

But with him being my coach, him teaching me, just being competitive in sports has definitely impacted my game and my mentality.

Q. You speak Spanish, right?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yes, I do speak Spanish.

Q. I know on the broadcast that they were showing a photo of you and Carlos Alcaraz and that you guys practiced together? Curious how that came to be, what that was like? How motivating is it to see so many of the teenagers doing so well at the US Open this year?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Well, unfortunately we did not practice together. We definitely do need to have a hit, because I remember watching him in the juniors one tournament, and I'm just watching a right-handed Rafael Nadal, literally a right-handed Rafael Nadal. I was, hopefully we will be in the WTA and ATP together, and obviously that's been happening.

Seeing all these teenagers, the youngsters doing so great at the US Open and the other tournaments too is also eye-opening I think to the world, to the tennis world, because there is not only like one group of tennis players but there is a new wave of young generations that's coming up, and just trying to make an impact in the tennis game as much as they can.