Wild Card Run Ends for Williams and Fernandez

Williams and Fernandez after losing their match today

The US Open run for Montreal's Leylah Fernandez and American tennis champion Venus Williams is sadly over, after they were soundly defeated by top seeded American Taylor Townsend and her Czech Republic partner Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-2 in a 57-minute match in the quarterfinals.

Nevertheless, it was still a win for both Fernandez and Williams, who have a mutual admiration for each other.

"I was so inspired by Leylah," Williams said. "I really got so much confidence playing with her, having an opportunity to play more matches in the doubles, and it was just an amazing experience to be able to do that."

The wild card pair enjoyed their time on the court 

For Fernandez, it was a thrill to play with her tennis idol, and a reminder of why she pursued the sport.

"The most important thing is that I started playing tennis for the love of the game and for bringing joy on court, not only for myself but also for the fans."

But wait -- the run for Canadian women in doubles is not over yet.

Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and New Zealander Erin Routliffe are getting closer to possibly clinching a second US Open women's doubles title.

The third seeds had a shaky start but eventually defeated 11th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Brazil's Luisa Stefani 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.

Red Hot Canadian Tennis Talent

Fernandez (left) and Williams (right) are playing well together

Team Canada is flaming hot this year at the US Open. 

Montrealer Leylah Fernandez's profile has bumped up exponentially since she had Venus Williams as her doubles partner and the pair -- who only started playing together last week -- are now in the quarter-finals.

The wildcard pair have made the quarter finals

They were a wild card entry, with Fernandez at 22-years-old, and Williams at 45.

Today they defeated 12th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4 handily in one hour and 14 minutes.

"We're on the same wavelength and hopefully we can keep it going," said Williams.

"I have full confidence in Venus, and I hope she has full confidence in me during our match," Fernandez said. "We're just going out there, playing our game: Be offensive, aggressive and ready for the ball."

The pair are even getting coaching tips from Serena Williams, and sister Venus suggested on a live interview that it was time for Serena "to show up."

Auger-Aliassime beat Rublev to get into quarters

Then on the Canadian men's side, fellow Montrealer Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. On Saturday Rublev abruptly ended Hongkonger Coleman Wong Chak-lam's fairytale run at the US Open.

"[Monday] is my first time playing on Arthur Ashe in a few years, and I think it feels even better than the first time," said Auger-Aliassime, referring to the 2021 US Open semis. 

"At 21, I was on my way up. I had a few setbacks, injuries, struggles with confidence. Then to come back the second time in the quarterfinals here, it feels much better, more deserved."

It's been exciting watching Fernandez and Auger-Aliassime play awesome tennis and get the recognition they deserve. The future is bright for tennis in Canada!