Dark horse Kenin’s surge ‘no surprise’

Sofia Kenin is the Australian Open dark horse who has been hiding in plain sight. The 21-yearold American will contest her first grand slam final today when she takes on two-time major winner Garbine Muguruza at Melbourne Park.

Kenin had never previously been beyond the fourth round at a slam but showed big-match mentality in beating Serena Williams at the French Open last year and has risen swiftly up the rankings to 15th. She was also a child prodigy marked out for stardom at an early age, while she made her US Open debut at 16.

Her doubles partner, Bethanie Mattek-sands, said: “Everyone is surprised. But, knowing her and seeing some of her wins this year, I am not really surprised.”

After ending the run of 15-year-old Coco Gauff in the fourth round, Kenin played the party pooper again by knocking out big home hope Ashleigh Barty in the semi-finals. She will break into the top ten on Monday no matter the outcome and would climb to seventh with victory.

Given her competitive nature and cool head so far, it would be a surprise if she did not handle the occasion with aplomb.

“I’m just going to be enjoying the moment,” she said. “You don’t experience this so often. This is so exciting. Literally butterflies.

“I’m just going to also focus on what I need to do, focus on my game. I got here, it’s time to shine, do the best I can - hopefully do something more special.”