Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas needed all five sets to outlast home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis, who again proved he can hang with the world’s best at this level – despite his injuries. Before, there was a tearful exit for defending champion Sofia Kenin while top seed Ashleigh Barty survived a scare to beat wildcard Daria Gavrilova and Elina Svitolina beat teenager Cori Gauff. Continue reading
Tag: Sofia Kenin
Australian Open 2021: Kenin, Gauff, Medvedev win as Azarenka and Goffin stunned
Defending champion Sofia Kenin wasn’t satisfied but crucially got the job done, while there were comfortable wins for Cori Gauff, Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal and some surprising results too – David Goffin, Victoria Azarenka and Johanna Konta all crashed out on Day 2. Continue reading
Australian Open 2021: Johanna Konta grateful, reflecting on quarantine period
Johanna Konta, world number 14, has revealed how grateful she is to have been one of the lucky ones permitted to practice for five hours a day – considering 72 others, including compatriot Heather Watson (#58), have been locked in their hotel rooms for two weeks after positive COVID-19 cases were confirmed on flights taking players to Australia earlier this month.
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WTA Abu Dhabi: Sabalenka swiftly dismantles Sakkari for 14th straight win
Aryna Sabalenka (#4) wasted no time in overpowering Maria Sakkari (#9) – 6-3, 6-2 in just under an hour’s play – booking her place in tomorrow’s final with a ruthless showing of striking accuracy and purposeful serving too. She’ll play new world number 36 Veronika Kudermetova in the Abu Dhabi finale, hoping to futher extend an impressive 14-match winning streak. Continue reading
WTA Abu Dhabi: Sakkari rallies to earn for big win vs. Kenin, Sabalenka in semis
Maria Sakkari (#9) dropped her first set of the week, but duly responded emphatically: winning ten games in a row en route to her fifth career win over a top-five player, with a third set bagel against the tournament’s top seed Sofia Kenin. Aryna Sabalenka (#4) awaits in tomorrow’s semi-finals, after she outlasted Elena Rybakina (#6) in three sets earlier on as Day 7 continued. Continue reading
WTA Abu Dhabi: Kenin saves match point to beat Putintseva, Sakkari next in quarter-finals
Sofia Kenin (#1) survived match point to fight back, edging the second set tiebreak before winning in three tightly-contested sets: 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 – vs. Yulia Putintseva (#13), to book an intriguing quarter-final matchup with Maria Sakkari on Monday, who blasted past Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 6-4 three hours earlier as the action from WTA’s Abu Dhabi 500 event continues. Continue reading
French Open 2020: Polish teenager Iga Swiatek blasts Sofia Kenin to win first title
After a brilliant fortnight’s action where she blitzed through the competition with ruthless efficiency, Polish teenager Iga Swiatek topped that with another straight-sets victory – 6-4, 6-1 – to overcome Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin – winning her first Grand Slam title in style. Continue reading
French Open 2020: Swiatek and Kenin book their places in Saturday’s final
Polish teenager Iga Swiatek dropped just three games against Nadia Podoroska to book her first Grand Slam Final, where she’ll play this year’s Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on Saturday after the 21-year-old edged a competitive straight-sets win over Petra Kvitova. Continue reading
French Open 2020: Tsitsipas will play Djokovic in Friday’s semis as both progress
Ten days after losing to him in their Hamburg final on the eve of this year’s rescheduled Roland Garros tournament, world number six Stefanos Tsitsipas made relative light work of Andrey Rublev to reach the second Grand Slam semi-final of his career. He’ll play world no. 1 Novak Djokovic on Friday, who recovered from a set down to beat Pablo Carreno Busta on Wednesday. Continue reading
French Open 2020: Schwartzman to play Nadal in semis after contrasting wins
Diego Schwartzman needed five hours and eight minutes to outlast close friend and US Open winner Dominic Thiem during a gripping five-set encounter, progressing into the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career to date. His reward? Facing 12-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal on Friday, who came through a difficult test against Italian teenager Jannik Sinner. Continue reading
US Open 2019: Bianca Andreescu seals title with 6-3, 7-5 victory against Serena Williams
19-year-old Bianca oozed class and world-class potential to win her maiden Grand Slam with a straight-sets victory over heavy favourite Serena. The Canadian also becomes the youngest female teenager since Svetlana Kuznetsova (19y, 76d) back in 2004 to win a Grand Slam trophy.
