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Post by Admin on Feb 4, 2020 1:21:01 GMT
“The American's relentless returning, ability to execute under pressure and an insatiable will-to-win ground down the Spaniard, who led by a set before being mentally and physically worn down in Saturday's final in Melbourne,” the BBC’s Jonathan Jurejko said. It was a sentiment echoed by the Washington Post’s Ava Wallace, who said: “The 21-year-old Floridian came alive under the bright lights and closed roof of Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne and fist-pumped away any pressure she might have felt playing in her first major tournament final Saturday at the Australian Open. “Even when facing pressure-packed break points, her aggressive level of play hardly dipped throughout the more than two-hour match.” “The daughter of Russian parents who emigrated to the United States, Sofia Kenin embodies the inner strength of players who carry the past of their own as a legacy. With it, tennis is no longer a game, it is a struggle for life, for death,” she said. It was a spirit encapsulated by a defining moment in the deciding set, Howard Fendrich of Japan Today argued: “This, essentially, was where Sofia Kenin was going to win or lose the Australian Open final: she was down love-40 while serving at 2-all in the third set against two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza. “Kenin came through in spectacular fashion.” Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim pointed out: “This will go down as a surprise win. The 14th-seeded Kenin had never played deep in a major and had only won three small titles. But she has an unbreakable backhand, a connoisseur’s taste for battle and a relentlessness shared by few other players. Don’t be surprised if this result seems less surprising as time goes by.” In the Wall Street Journal, Jason Gay, praised Kenin’s sense of geometry and point to a “career-making breakthrough for a talent who may have been previously overlooked, because Kenin doesn’t possess the showiest skill set”. Meanwhile, Simon Briggs of The Telegraph suggested that there is more than a hint of one of her heroes to her demeanour on court. “With her father and coach Alexander at her side, Kenin has the fierceness and focus of a young Maria Sharapova,” he wrote.
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Post by Admin on Feb 5, 2020 1:23:47 GMT
The Sofia Kenin File
Age: 21 Birthplace: Moscow, Russia Residence: Pembroke Pines, Fla. Current Rank: 7 Career-High Rank: 7 (Feb. 3, 2020) Best US Open Finish: Third Round (2017-19)
The Baseline
- Kenin, whose nickname is "Sonya," defeated Muguruza in their only other meeting—a three-set, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 victory at the 2019 China Open. With her win over the Spaniard in Melbourne, Kenin became the new American No. 1. She sits two spots ahead of No. 9 Serena Williams and five places in front of No. 12 Madison Keys in the latest WTA Rankings.
- Kenin is coming off a career year in 2019, in which she won three singles titles (Hobart, Mallorca, Guangzhou), had a career-best Grand Slam performance (fourth round, French Open) and was named the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year. Her third-round win over Serena at Roland Garros last year was the first time an American player defeated the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion at a major since Sloane Stephens beat her in the 2013 Australian Open quarterfinals.
- The 21-year-old had an impressive junior career, in which she won the 2014 Orange Bowl girls' 18s title at age 16, advanced to the 2015 US Open girls' final and achieved a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world in November 2015. She was also a member of the U.S. Junior Fed Cup team that swept Slovakia, 3-0, for the 2015 title.
- Kenin, who is coached by her father Alexander, was born in Moscow and moved to the U.S. with her family shortly after her birth. She now resides in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
- Next up for Kenin: She will represent the U.S., along with Williams, Gauff, Alison Riske and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, in the Fed Cup Qualifiers, Feb. 7-8, in Everett, Wash. The winning team will advance to the Fed Cup Finals in Budapest, Hungary, in April.
They Said It!
"These past two weeks, there have been a lot of emotions. You guys could see after the match how much it all meant to me. This is such an honor. I'm so proud of myself, my dad, my team, everyone that has been around me. We've all worked hard. We've been through tough times. We did it. We fought. I'm just like on cloud nine." — Sofia Kenin, in her post-match press conference after winning the Australian Open title.
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Post by Admin on Feb 19, 2020 22:01:05 GMT
Sofia Kenin has lost her first WTA match since winning the Australian Open, going down 6-7 (2/7), 6-3, 6-3 to Elena Rybakina at the Dubai Championships.
The World No.7’s loss completed a stunning hat-trick of seeded upsets on the fourth day of action in the United Arab Emirates.
Title holder Belinda Bencic was overhauled 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, while third seed and two-time tournament winner Elina Svitolina was hammered 6-2, 6-1 by qualifier Jennifer Brady.
Kenin played a pair of non-Tour Fed Cup matches immediately after her Melbourne win over Garbine Muguruza, who cut short Kim Clijsters' comeback on Monday.
The 21-year-old went down in just over two hours to her 19th-ranked opponent who stood 192nd in the world a year ago.
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Post by Admin on Mar 10, 2020 21:33:55 GMT
Pembroke Pines’ Sofia Kenin followed-up her January Australian Open title with her second of the year on Sunday in Lyon, France, defeating unseeded Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 for the inaugural Open 6eme Sens – Metropole de Lyon championship. In the first round the No. 1-seeded Kenin snapped a three-match losing streak on the WTA Tour, saving a match point against qualifier Jaqueline Cristian. “I knew I needed to regroup, and I’m so happy that I won it,” said Kenin who in the first round won her first match since the victory in Melbourne. “Every match was a close one and I had to really fight through — every player I played put up a tough fight against me, and I was able to play my game which was good.” Kenin toughed-out a final that saw her hit 29 winners to 42 unforced errors, eventually improving to 4-1 career in finals.
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Post by Admin on Apr 7, 2020 4:49:12 GMT
In such times, Tennis Channel has managed to provide some entertainment through their Confessional Carts. Their latest guest is Australian Open Champ Sofia Kenin.
Q&A Session With Sofia Kenin
The robotic golf cart asked Sofia Kenin many questions. Sofia revealed many things about herself through her answers. Some of those questions and their answers are given below.
“If you could play an Olympic sport besides tennis, what would it be?“
Sofia said that she would love to compete in Olympic Swimming. When she was asked if she knew any Olympic swimmers she replied, “No” which was very surprising.
“Who would you switch places with for a day?”
She replied, “I would switch places with Novak Djokovic.” The host who was chuckling at the reply said that he bets Novak Djokovic would also switch places with her. This was the most interesting revelation about Sofia Kenin during the whole session.
Sofia Kenin shines in crunch time to win Australian Open title ...PIN IT
“What is on your workout playlist?”
Sofia Kenin said that she cannot stop listening to Drake. When asked specifically which song she said that she couldn’t decide as she loves all of his songs. I am sure Drake will be happy to hear that.
“From the tour, who would you like to go on a vacation with?”
Sofia initially did not want to say it but eventually did. She said that she would love to go on a vacation with Grigor Dimitrov. When the host asked her about her friend Bethanie Mattek-Sands she started laughing. She said Bethanie would kill her for her answer to the question.
This episode of Confessional Carts was a fun-filled one. It provided a lot of entertainment to bored tennis fans. Let’s hope this continues till the WTA tour resumes where we will see Sofia Kenin competing for the grand slams again.
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