WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka smashes racquet in frustration after the crowd turns ‘Pro Fernandez’


WATCH: Aryna Sabalenka smashes racquet in frustration after the crowd turns ‘Pro Fernandez’

Aryna Sabalenka

The semifinals of a grand slam can always bring added pressure especially when you are the favorite and are expected to reach make it to your maiden major final. Such was the case with World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka. In the first semifinal against Canadian teen Leylah Fernandez, the Belarussian seemed very frustrated during one of the change over and wrecked her racquet.

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Fernandez matched Sabalenka from the baseline in the first set which is always a rare sight as the second seed is one of the hardest hitter of the ball in the women’s game. The Canadian’s quickness at times left Sabalenka by surprise and she was having a difficult time in getting a decisive break. The set eventually went into a tie breaker where Fernandez dropped just 3 points to win the set7-6(3).

The crowd was loving this stellar fight from the 19-year old and as always, backed the underdog to Sabalenka’s frustration. The players were on serve in the start on the second set as well and after the 5th game, Sabalenka lost her cool. Fernandez had held serve brilliantly in a tricky game and the crowd turned wild- the combination that frustrated the second seed. She quickly sat down at the change over and smashed her racquet in anger to release all the stress that was building up.

However, the racquet breaking seemed to be good decision as it helped her get the break of serve late in the set. She broke Fernandez in the 9th game and capitalized it with a strong hold to win the set 6-4 and force a decider.

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Also read: British teen Emma Raducanu becomes the first qualifier in the women’s game to reach the final four at the US Open