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Best Canadian performances ever at Tennis' US Open

Canada are yet to produce a true world-beater in tennis but that does not mean they have not had their fair share of iconic Grand Slam moments, most notably at the US Open.

From Bianca Andreescu to Felix Auger-Aliassime, the country is home to some top talents on the men's and women's circuits.

Off the back of the nation's worst ever showing at Flushing Meadows, here is a look at some of Canada's best ever US Open performances.

Lareau makes history in men's doubles

When thinking of iconic US Open moments, most will focus on the men and women's singles events but it was in the men's doubles in 1999 that Canada enjoyed their first taste of US Open success.

Sebastien Lareau became the first ever Canadian to win a Grand Slam title that year as he and partner Alex O'Brien of the USA defeated Indian pair Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes in the men's doubles US Open final.

Two-time Olympian Lareau would also go on to claim a gold medal in the tennis doubles with Daniel Nestor at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Fellow Canadian Nestor himself then went on to win eight Grand Slam men's doubles titles as well as four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles throughout his career.

Breakthrough comes with Andreescu in 2019

But it was 2019 that marked the most significant moment in Canadian tennis history.

That year Serena Williams was heavily fancied to take home the US Open title in a women's draw which featured eight former champions.

And the veteran American was pretty comfortable in making her way to the final, taking down Wang Qiang 6-1 6-0 in the quarterfinals and Elina Svitolina 6-3 6-1 in the last four.

So when Williams came up against a 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu, who was making her main draw debut, in the final, it seemed clear which way the match would go.

Instead, though, Andreescu made history, digging deep to take down Williams 6-3 7-5 and become the first ever Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.

Andreescu became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam crown since Maria Sharapova in 2006 and was the first player born in the 2000s to win a Slam.

It was a remarkable achievement and as far as Canadian tennis goes, it is one yet to be matched.

Fernandez defies all expectations

Another teenager to defy the odds in the women's draw at the US Open was Leylah Fernandez in 2021.

There was no obvious candidate for the title that season and 19-year-old Fernandez capitalised, forging her way to the final.

On her way, Fernandez defeated big names Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Aryna Sabalenka, and her hopes of matching Andreescu were boosted when she came up against a similarly inexperienced Emma Raducanu in the final.

Both players put together remarkable runs to set up the first all-teenage final at the US Open since 1999, particularly as neither player had previously made it beyond the fourth round of a major before that Grand Slam.

It was therefore uncharted territory for both and, although it was Briton Raducanu who won 6-4 6-3, Fernandez could reflect on one of the best Canadian singles performances at any Grand Slam event.

During her campaign, Fernandez took down three of the top five seeds at the women's US Open - that was only the third time that had happened in the Open Era.

Auger-Aliassime impresses with semi-final run

Although not as successful as others on this list, Felix Auger-Aliassime remains one of Canada's most promising talents in men's singles Grand Slams.

Although Auger-Aliassime has had a tough season in 2023, only two years ago, he impressed at Flushing Meadows with a run to the tournament's semifinals.

That run featured wins over Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe and Roberto Bautista Agut and was his best ever performance at a Grand Slam singles event, although he also made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2021.

Auger-Aliassime lost to world number two Daniil Medvedev, the eventual champion, in the semifinals but became the youngest player to reach that stage of the competition since 2009.

That performance saw him move up to a career-high 11th in the world rankings and Auger-Aliassime has since hit sixth back in November last year, making him the second-highest-ranked Canadian man in the history of the ATP rankings.

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