Kenin beats Jabeur, first to advance to semifinals
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
Sofia Kenin’s breakthrough run at Grand Slam tournament has continued to the semifinals at the Australian Open.
The 21-year-old Kenin beat No. 78-ranked Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the first match Tuesday on Rod Laver Arena. Both were playing in the quarterfinals at a major for the first time.
Jabeur, a 25-year-old Tunisian, was the first Arab woman to make it to the last eight at a major.
For Kenin, who was born in Moscow but moved to the United States as a baby and grew up in Florida, the degree of difficulty increased dramatically.
In the semifinals, she’ll play either top-ranked Ash Barty, the French Open champion who is aiming to break an Australian drought at the national championship, or two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who reached the final here last year.
The 21-year-old Kenin planned to watch the match, which followed hers on Rod Laver Arena, and enjoy it. She didn’t have a preference for who she plays next.
“I’m in the semis,” she said. “Anyone I play, they’re playing really well.”
Kenin is playing her best tennis, too. Her best previous run at Melbourne
Park ended in the second round, when she lost to Simona Halep last year. He best previous run at a
Grand Slam tournament was to the fourth round at the French Open last year.
She finished the year ranked 14th, and could match No. 1 Barty in one category: they were tied for most hard-court wins on the women’s tour last year with 38 wins each.
Kenin’s run here included a comeback win in the third round against 15-year-old Coco Gauff, when she made only nine unforced errors across the second and third sets.
In the second set against Jabeur, she saved three break points in a long sixth game, then broke serve in the seventh game to set up the win.
“It was a tough moment,” Kenin said. “I didn’t know it was 10 minutes [but] it was pretty long, the game. After that I got my momentum.”
In later men’s quarterfinals, 20-time major winner Roger Federer was playing 100th-ranked Tennys Sandgren, and seven-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic had a night match against Milos Raonic of Canada.
NADAL OUSTS KYRGIOS
Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios have long appeared to have little in common.
Nadal, 33, is a maximizer, a former teen prodigy from Spain who continues to wring every drop of potential from his sturdy frame and spectacular game.
Kyrgios, 24 and gifted, is a puzzler, a flickering talent from Australia who is still sifting through his priorities and still wary of day-in, day-out commitment.
They have clashed in the past, but they were united in purpose on a cool, gusty Monday evening at the
Australian Open. Nadal prevailed, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4), in a duel that was rich in both razzledazzle and grit, just as it was when they faced each other at Wimbledon last year.
Kyrgios has been battling all tournament, willing and serving his way to victory over Karen Khachanov in a marathon third-round match Saturday that lasted five sets and four hours, 26 minutes.
Against the No. 1-seeded Nadal, Kyrgios scrapped, dived and went for broke some more. Kyrgios ended up with bloody knuckles, a broken racket and without a spot in the final eight, but it was clear that he had given his all.
It was often spectacular, with Nadal whipping forehand winners down the line into the corner from extreme positions, and Kyrgios conjuring unexpected angles and touch shots.
As at Wimbledon, Kyrgios tried an underarm serve, but this one hit the net instead of surprising Nadal for an ace. As at Wimbledon, he blasted a passing shot at Nadal’s body at the net, and although Nadal missed the reflex volley, this time he did not shoot a dirty look at his opponent.
Though Kyrgios did finish with 25 aces, all came on first serves, and he won just 37% of the points on his second serve.
“I just couldn’t get a ball past him,” the 23rd-seeded Kyrgios said. “I was trying to serve and volley trying to drop shot. Eventually I would have to win the point three times to win a point.”