The anonymity for Lela is over

Bointon Beach, Fluoride | How do you reward yourself when you are 19 and playing your first Grand Slam final? By buying a good car? No, when you have Leila Fernandez, you spoil yourself with Putin.

“After the US Open, I spent a few days in Montreal. I used the opportunity to review long-trained grounds, visit the city and eat some burgers and poutine. Poutine is very important!”

The Journal met Leah with her father and trainer George near the family home in Boyton Beach. The new tennis star has just returned from training. It was 6:30 in the evening.

Hence the holiday is short-lived for Leela.

After taking a vacation these days in Montreal, she also saw family and friends, and Fernandez returned to Florida to improve her game.

Still painful

Because even after three weeks of unexpectedly reaching the final round of the US Open, the young athlete is still unable to get anything but positivity from her excellent performance.

A few minutes after bowing to Britain’s Emma Radukan 6-4, 6-3, another new WTA star, the original Lavalois, said it would be difficult to “recover from today”.

Time has passed, but the findings remain the same.

“I’m happy with what I did at the US Open, but this defeat still hurts me,” Kubeser admitted. I’m still analyzing the match, and when I say to myself “Ah, I did not do well” it makes a difference in the crucial moments. “

Despite this pain, Fernandez continues to experience his new infamy, beating his favorite four wins in the tournament in these two weeks.

The young athlete, who was ranked 73rd in the world before the US Open, is now 29th^E WTA rank. His performance until the final allowed him to cash in US $ 1.25 million (approximately CA $ 1.6 million), almost doubling his earnings before the tournament.

Most requested

Jorge Fernandez says his daughter spends long moments every day filtering out various partnerships and meeting requests to focus entirely on tennis.

In fact, from its end, the anonymity is over. When Leila trained at the Delray Beach Tennis Club a few miles from her home, the audience sat in stands to watch her.

And she loves it. On the streets of Montreal, it is as if she was recognized near where she grew up. “This is the first time people have asked me to take pictures with them. I was shocked, but I had a lot of fun, smiling and telling Lela. It was a dream!”

“I like it when people come to train me. It puts me in competitive mode, she adds. When I train in front of an audience, I want to perform well, have fun on the pitch so people don’t see me as just a serious girl.”

Always difficult

And when she thought about it, three weeks later, was the path to the Grand Slam final easier or harder than she had imagined?

“It’s hard! Fernandez replied with a smile. And now it’s getting harder. But I can not wait. I’m looking forward to the next Grand Slam, I ‘m looking forward to my next tournament.

“These difficulties are a privilege. This is my dream. This is what I have wanted to do since I was 5 years old.”

Indian Wells, Lay Test

Leila Fernandez will return to competition from Wednesday as part of the Indian Wells Tournament. Because of her performance in New York, she knew that other players would be waiting for her.

She will now be a beating athlete.

“But it’s a new tournament, a new week,” she keeps in mind. I came back with the same mentality: I want to win the tournament. But you have to take one point at a time, one game at a time. I want to make every point, every game fun. And I’m going to run the game plan as much as I can. “

She hated it though Verbal presentations

Leila Fernandez’s speech after losing the US Open. The women’s final was held on September 11, 2001 to mark the 11th anniversary of women. “I hope to be as strong and resilient as New York for the last 20 years. Thank you for supporting me throughout the tournament, ”she said on the field, at Marie Joe Fernandez’s microphone. Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick called out the “most mature” words he heard after a match. But Fernandez admitted that she never spoke eloquently when talking to the audience. “I hated verbal performances at school! She suggested. I started crying in front of the whole class.”

Be an artist In the field

When you reach a major tournament final at just 19, what’s next?

For Leila Fernandez, the course at the US Open is a springboard in her career that she hopes to win in the World Top 10 with Grand Slam titles and performances. But there are more “poetic” aspirations in Cubacois.

“I want to be an artist in this field,” she says. “I’m going to work every day so that one player can tell himself that he will do anything to beat me and I will tell him the same thing. We will fight on the field and at the end of the match, there are smiles, tears. I want to be inspired.”

Direction to Miami to avoid traffic

Lehla and George would love to add a coach to their clan in the coming weeks, but they are looking to get closer to Miami, where the player will train with physical trainer Douglas Cordero. Douglas is the person we often see in the cubes box during the US Open. He works with a number of players, including the Austrian Dominic theme. “He’s funny, he’s so emotional. I like it!

Dad had The TV was shut down

Was his father George proud when his 19-year-old daughter heard such a speech on the world’s largest tennis court?

“I didn’t hear … I turned off the TV,” he said. When I watch his games, it’s like a coach. After the game is over, I need to take notes, prepare for the next game. “

But apparently a lot of people later showed him the video clip. Yes, Dad is proud. “I’m glad she had the opportunity to express herself in this way,” he said. In addition, Jorge Fernandez said he regrets staying in Florida until the end of the tournament, even though his daughter has reached the final. He will also not be in Indian Wells: he will instead play in the ITF tournament in Redding with Leila’s sister Bianca.