Sofia Kenin will meet Gabine Muguruza in her first-ever Grand Slam singles final in the Australian Open on Saturday.
American Sofia Kenin has reached her first Grand Slam tennis singles final. Kenin, who knocked out Coco Gauff earlier in the tournament, upset the home favourite and top seed Ashleigh Barty 7-6, 7-5 at the Australian Open this morning.
.@SofiaKenin gets 2️ hugs from @Dinarik27 for reaching the #AO2020 women's singles final!#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/Y9JaI8pK8r
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020
It was an impressive performance from the quiet American, who won four consecutive games from 5-3 down in the second set including some sublime touches when set-point down in the second set.
“It was really tough,” said Kenin after the match. “I knew she was not going to give up to me. I really needed to fight out there. She’s a great player. There’s a reason she’s world No 1.”
It was suggested that Kenin was the quiet American after the game, she insisted she's "fiesty." Who cares, with the composure shown to reach a first Slam final against a home top-seed, more finals will follow, regardless of Kenin's volume.
Upset
Kenin will face Spain's Garbine Muguruza in the Australian Open ladies singles final. The former Wimbledon and French Open champion also caused a bit of an upset when beating Simona Halep in Melbourne.
That winning moment 💪@GarbiMuguruza | #AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/k4pXtzKby4
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2020
The unseeded Spaniard, 26, battled past the fourth seed in a tense 7-6, 7-5 semi-final victory. The two-time Grand Slam champion fought off four set points in the opener and twice came back from a break down in the second set.
After the win, Muguruza was asked could she have believed two weeks ago, that she might end up in a final: “You don’t think like that, that’s two weeks ago. You go day by day, you take each match as it comes. I have one final match on Saturday.”
She was asked about falling behind in the match: “I wasn’t thinking I was down, I was thinking to keep going. At some point, you’ll have your opportunity.
“Luckily I have 48 hours to recover and get ready for the last match. We train all our career to get ready for this match.”
