Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has broken big-serving Ben Shelton a half-dozen times and eliminated the No. 4 seed by a 6-2, 7-5 score in the D.C. Open semifinals.

Leylah Fernandez battled back to upset Elena Rybakina and Anna Kalinskaya ousted a resurgent Emma Raducanu to set up the DC Open final.

Three hours 12 minutes later, Leylah Fernandez, glistening with sweat from the marathon she had survived, could finally throw her arms in the air. She had been pushed to the brink and somehow returned from it.