No. 14 seed Sofia Kenin rallied after losing the first set to defeat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza and claim her first Grand Slam title on Saturday at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Kenin, a 21-year-old American, overcame a rough start to pull out a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory. She had never previously reached the quarterfinals of any major tournament.
“My dream has officially come true,” said Kenin after the two-hour, three-minute match. “If you have a dream, go for it, because it can come true.”
Paying it forward?⏩ Back to the future? ⏪ When our 2011 champ @Clijsterskim met our now #AO2020 champ @SofiaKenin #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/03P6swgTEl — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
Paying it forward?⏩ Back to the future? ⏪
When our 2011 champ @Clijsterskim met our now #AO2020 champ @SofiaKenin #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/03P6swgTEl
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
Muguruza, 26, jumped ahead with an early break and took a 4-2 lead in the first set, only to see Kenin rally to tie it up at 4-all. Muguruza then broke the American and served out to take the first set.
Kenin turned the tables in the second, jumping ahead 5-2 and then breaking Muguruza to draw even in the match.
The pair traded holds to open the deciding set at 2-all, before Muguruza blew a golden opportunity when she had three break points in the fifth game.
Kenin saved all three and followed with a break of her own to take command of the match.
“I can remember that game very well, yes,” Kenin said. “That’s the game I feel like changed things. I had to play some best tennis. I did. After that, I was on fire. I was ready to take the beautiful trophy.”
Fearless Kenin conjures comeback to become the youngest #AusOpen winner since 2008. How exactly did she do it? Women’s final match report ➡ https://t.co/pfK6VhWXuJ#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/ek1vkeNKj4 — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
Fearless Kenin conjures comeback to become the youngest #AusOpen winner since 2008.
How exactly did she do it?
Women’s final match report ➡ https://t.co/pfK6VhWXuJ#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/ek1vkeNKj4
Muguruza, a former World No. 1 but unseeded for this event, won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017, but her best previous result at the Australian Open was a quarterfinal defeat in 2017.
“I had to be brave by playing a two-time Grand Slam champion,” said Kenin. “All respect to her. She played a really tough match. Every point, it was such a battle. A lot of moving. A lot of emotions on court from both sides.”
“I’m not very happy about my performance,” said Muguruza. “I think I had to play better today because she came up with a great level. I think at the important moments I didn’t find my shots. I think she found her shots.”
Kenin is set to rise to No. 7 when the new rankings are released on Monday. Muguruza is currently ranked No. 32 in the world.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
The San Francisco Giants will look to further close the gap in their all-time rivalry with the visiting Oakland Athletics when they seek a second straight win Wednesday night in…
The Cleveland Guardians and Los Angeles Angels will play the third game of their four-game series Wednesday night in Anaheim, Calif., as the Guardians try to rediscover their offense. Cleveland’s…
The Los Angeles Kings are playoff-bound for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The Kings (43-27-10, 96 points) punched their postseason ticket Tuesday night when Dallas defeated Vegas in…
Guardians, slumping Franmil Reyes take on Shohei Ohtani’s Angels
Playoff-bound Kings seek to keep Kraken reeling
Six-man rotation kicks in as Astros, Cristian Javier face Rangers
Jason Robertson, Stars can lock up playoff berth vs. Coyotes