Tennis-Fernandez uses doubters as motivation to reach US Open final

Sep 9, 2021; Flushing, NY, USA; Leylah Fernandez of Canada celebrates after her match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (not pictured) on day eleven of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Leylah Fernandez may not feel the weight of expectation as she heads into the U.S. Open final but the Canadian teenager will have a chip on her shoulder put there by those who doubted her.

Dropped from Tennis Quebec's development program when she was seven-years-old and told by teachers to forget becoming a professional and focus on school, Fernandez will have the last laugh on Saturday when faces fellow teen Emma Raducanu for a first Grand Slam title and a winner's purse of $2.5 million.