It’s been an exhilarating week for Leylah Annie Fernandez and for Canadian tennis. She is set to play her first Grand Slam semi-final at the #USOpen on Thursday.
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Ms. Fernandez, who turned 19 on Monday, is only 5 foot 6, but a giant when it comes to her skills – chasing down impossible balls and fighting off the comeback attempts of her bigger and far more experienced opponents.
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Ms. Fernandez’s slight stature and big smile belie her stamina and toughness, which is thanks in part to the training imparted by her father.
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Jorge Fernandez, a self-taught tennis coach, has been watching the greatest run of his daughter’s tennis career from afar at home – her giant-toppling spree all the way to the #USOpen semis.
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They talk three or four times a day. They are close, even if the man who doubles as her head coach is home in Boynton Beach, Fla., while she’s in New York.
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While at home, Mr. Fernandez analyzes video of her opponents. He passes along what he has learned from studying video and stats of her opponents.
He knows his daughter’s game intimately because he created it.
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“‘Fame’s a traitor,’ that’s what I said to her,” Mr. Fernandez said.
“That’s what makes [Rafael] Nadal special, [Novak] Djokovic special, it’s their ability to not let fame get them off their work.”
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