Kenin back to winning ways in Lyon
LYON: Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin snapped a three-match losing streak by easing past Russian Vitalia Diatchenko in straight sets at the WTA event in Lyon on Wednesday.
The American top seed, who had lost her opening matches in both Dubai and Doha in recent weeks, beat her 107thranked opponent 6-4, 6-3 to reach the second round.
Kenin will next face Romanian qualifier Jaqueline Adina Cristian.
World No.5 Kenin took the opening set off Diatchenko on her third set point, before battling through a topsyturvy second which featured six breaks of serve.
“I didn’t have the best two weeks,” Kenin told wtatour.com.
Her maiden Slam triumph had been followed by a win over Anastasija Sevastova in the Fed Cup before losses to Latvia’s former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, also in Fed Cup, Elena Rybakina in Dubai and Dayana Yastremska in Doha.
“I had some tough opponents on a streak of playing some hot tennis and I was close, so it wasn’t like I lost to someone who was no good. I’m just happy to have gotten the win.”
Meanwhile injury-hit Japan No.1 Kei Nishikori said yesterday he had failed to recover from an elbow injury and will sit out the behind-closed-doors Davis Cup qualifier against Ecuador at the weekend.
A depleted Japan will also be without world No.48 Yoshihito Nishioka when they bid to reach the finals in Spain later this year.
Nishioka has opted to return to the United States as a precaution against being quarantined because of the novel coronavirus outbreak ahead of next week’s ATP Tour Masters event in Indian Wells. US President Donald Trump has suggested that the US might consider imposing restrictions on people travelling from Japan because of the virus threat.