Kenin downs Muguruza to win her
first Grand Slam at Australian Open
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[February 01, 2020]
By Sudipto Ganguly
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - American Sofia
Kenin counter-punched her way back from a set down against Garbine
Muguruza to win her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open
with a 4-6 6-2 6-2 win on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Kenin, seeded 14th at Melbourne Park, converted her
second matchpoint against the twice Grand Slam champion, who double
faulted on the final point, to end an engrossing contest that lasted
more than two hours.
"I just want to say my dream has officially come true ... I'm just
so grateful standing here," Kenin said after lifting the Daphne
Akhurst Memorial Cup.
"I'm looking forward to coming back here next year ... These past
two weeks have been the best two weeks of my life."
Kenin and Muguruza produced a fitting and intense final under the
closed roofs of a packed Rod Laver Arena.
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Muguruza had arrived in Melbourne suffering from a virus that forced
her to quit the Hobart International, but the Spaniard was soon back
to playing to her strength which helped her reach the top of the
women's rankings in 2017.
Some of the inconsistency that led to her slipping to 36th in the
rankings last year resurfaced against Kenin, however, as the
Spaniard blew hot and cold with her serve, getting 57% of her first
serves in while mixing her nine aces with eight double faults.
Kenin came to the match with a game plan, mixing deft drop shots
with her deep forehand groundstrokes to catch Muguruza by surprise
initially.
But the Spaniard soon found her range and converted her third
breakpoint in the third game to nose ahead in the opening set.
Kenin, who beat Ash Barty in the semi-final despite trailing the
world number one for most of the match, refused to throw in the
towel and boosted her confidence by saving four breakpoints to hold
the seventh game.
She was rewarded for her tenacity in the next game with two
consecutive double faults from Muguruza that gave the American a
break back, and brought the set back on serve.
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![](../images/020120pics/sports73.jpg)
Sofia Kenin of the U.S. poses with the trophy after winning her
match against Spain's Garbine Muguruza. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
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But the Spaniard came out firing on all cylinders to break the
Moscow-born Kenin again and took the opening set when her opponent
missed the sideline with her forehand.
Kenin took the court in the second set with renewed vigor as the
power behind her shots went up a notch. She got the break in the
fourth game and then a confident hold gave her a 4-1 lead.
There was no comeback for Muguruza from there as the American
leveled the match with the second break of her serve.
The intensity of the deciding set rose considerably with Muguruza
slapping her thigh to egg herself on while Kenin was almost reduced
to tears out of frustration at some of her shots.
Down 0-40 in the fifth game and with her back to the wall, Kenin
probably produced her best tennis. She painted the sidelines with
three scorching winners while also producing an ace to hold serve
for 3-2.
A fifth double fault from the Spaniard gave Kenin a 4-2 lead, and
she was suddenly within striking distance of victory, which she
sealed by breaking her opponent again.
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"I think I'm gonna keep it short because I'm going to get very
emotional," said Muguruza, before congratulating her opponent. "I
have to thank my team ... they were over there suffering with me
today."
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly and Ian Ransom; Editing by Hugh
Lawson)
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