Ashleigh Barty’s dream of becoming the first Australian woman to reach the Australian Open final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980 crashed after the local favorite suffered a loss to American Sofia Kenin 7-6 (6), 7-5 and failed to advance into the final. This is Kenin’s best performance at a Grand Slam in her 11 main-draw appearances as she had never advanced past the fourth round.
In the final, Sofia Kenin will now face Spanish-Venezuelan tennis player Garbine Muguruza who overwhelmed former World Number One Simona Halep 7-6,7-5 in the second semifinal.
On a day that was considered to the hottest day of the competition so far. As soon as Barty and Kenin took the court the mercury reached the mark of 100 degrees. However, both Barty and Kenin hardly looked to be affected by the scorching heat as their eyes were set on their aim.
In the first set, the determination of both these players to create a new history for them as the first set itself went into a tiebreaker without any breaks of serve. Kenin, saved three break points at 3-3 before spurning three of her own at 6-5 on Barty‘s serve. In the tie-break, they scrapped to 6-6 before Kenin clinched it to silence the home crowd.
Kenin started the nest set on a positive note as Barty serving for the set missed five straight first serves thus gifting Kenin a reprieve. Kenin was given once given a chance suddenly upped the ante through pace. Barty, who had wasted two set points in each set, failed to find the range on her serve as Kenin strengthened her grasp forcing a breakpoint to book her place in Saturday’s final.
Kenin became emotional after the win, with this, Kenin continued to challenge America in the tournament. Sofia Kenin is the only American player in both classes to reach the finals. Her compatriots and stalwarts Serena Williams, Venus Williams and 15-year-old Coco Gauff in the women’s section were eliminated from the tournament.
After the victory, Sophia Kenin looked emotional and said, “I’m speechless,”. “I can‘t believe it. I’ve dreamed of this since I was five years old. I’ve worked so hard to get here.” She added. “She’s such a tough player, she’s playing really amazing and I knew I really needed to find a way to win.”
