That’s all from me today. Thanks very much for following and we will be back tomorrow for one last final as Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem face off for the men’s title. Bye.
Sofia Kenin’s life just changed.
- She has now leapfrogged Serena Williams to become the US No.1 and she will be ranked 7th.
- She has just about doubled her career prize money from $2.9m to $5.7m.
- She just gave one of her first ever speeches as a shock slam champion, but from tomorrow she will be the player everyone wants to beat.
Between Ashleigh Barty, Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, Sofia Kenin and others like Belinda Bencic and Jelena Ostapenko the new generation has arrived in women’s tennis and they are have very different game styles. If they can all show up at the same time, a great year of tennis beckons.
Here is our first report on Sofia Kenin’s first slam title.
"This court brings an energy and the crowd is what makes it special."
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
We ❤️ you too, @GarbiMuguruza!#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/TBRxpCDvA3
“This is my first speech but I’ll try my best,” says Sofia Kenin:
My dream has officially come true, I can’t even describe this feeling. It’s so emotional and I worked so hard. I’m just so grateful to be standing here. Dreams come true. If you have a dream, go for it and it’s gonna come true.
An emotional Muguruza kept her speech short, thanking her team and congratulating Kenin. A tough, tough loss.
I have to say, it has been incredible playing out here in this environment, this court brings you energy. The crowd is what makes it special. We play for you guys, that’s the show. Thank you for coming.
It’s time for the trophy ceremony. One of the speakers just said that Kenin is 20 years old. She is 21 and she now looks very confused. We’re off to a good start.
Sofia Kenin is an angry superstar. Superb performance in her first grand slam final. These young women are not prepared to wait their turn. First Osaka, then Barty and Andreescu, now Kenin.
— Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) February 1, 2020
Meanwhile, the ever-dominant Dylan Alcott won his sixth Australian Open quad wheelchair title in a row.
Sadly for Garbiñe Muguruza, her game fell apart towards the end. She ended with 8 double faults, including 3 in the final game, and 45 unforced errors overall.
But across the net, she was facing one of the most tenacious players in the world. Kenin arrived in Rod Laver Arena doing exactly what most expected - she hit two drop shots in the opening game and she looked to disrupt Muguruza as much as she could. However, by the end of the match, she was well inside the baseline and controlling many of the points. She put immense pressure on the Spaniard and eventually Muguruza’s forehand and her serve could not handle it.
There are many to parse through, but the most instructive stat of all is the break points won column:
Sofia Kenin: 5/6
Garbiñe Muguruza: 2/12
Updated
Sofia Kenin beats Muguruza 4-6 6-2 6-2 to win the Australian Open!
Incredible result. Muguruza started so well, yet Kenin learnt from the first set and responded with the best two sets of her career to win her first slam title.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 5-2* Garbiñe Muguruza. Absolutely no problem from Kenin, who immediately flitted to a 40-0 lead with so much pressure on her back. Muguruza fought hard, including winning an exhausting rally to drag the American back to 40-30, but Kenin found a good serve at 40-30 and she is now one game away from an incredible first slam title.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 4-2* Garbiñe Muguruza. Kenin breaks! Muguruza looked to be well on her way to a hold at 40-15, but then she threw in two unforced errors to find herself at deuce. The Spaniard came up with a brilliant sliding serve at deuce, but Kenin just got her racquet onto the ball and it just dribbled over, forcing a surprised Muguruza to play another shot. She sent the backhand wide and then she double faulted on break point. Suddenly, a Grand Slam is on Sofia Kenin’s racquet.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 3-2* Garbiñe Muguruza. Kenin pulls out an incredible hold. Fresh from her own tight hold, Muguruza went on the attack, marching to a 0-40 lead and roaring behind every point.
Kenin responded by taking control of all three points as soon as she could, firing two backhand down the line winners and then a forehand down the line winner. At deuce, she came up with something even more surprising: a 146kmh sliding ace and then she held with a forehand passing shot winner. 5 winners in a row from 0-40 down. Astonishing.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 *2-2 Garbiñe Muguruza. A huge hold from Muguruza there. Kenin established a 15-30 lead with a laser-like backhand down the line winner. How did Muguruza respond? Two big unreturned first serve brought her to 40-30.
Then, after being dragged side-to-side by Kenin once again, she responded with an incredible crosscourt backhand on-the-run at 40-30, eventually finishing the point off at the net to hold.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 2-1* Garbiñe Muguruza. Another strong hold from Kenin, who found a brilliant backhand down the line combo to move up 40-15. Muguruza shanked a bad backhand long, her 35th error of the day, to hand over the game. Kenin is playing her best tennis in the biggest match of her life, but she is reacting badly to every single point she loses. She demands perfection.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 *1-1 Garbiñe Muguruza. Much better from Muguruza to secure a love hold. She landed 3 of 4 first serves and her forehand found its range for the first time in a while, finishing with a down the line winner for 30-0. She sealed the hold with a great cross-court forehand.
Third set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 6-2 1-0* Garbiñe Muguruza. Kenin rolls through an easy opening game to 15. Muguruza didn’t just miss throughout that game, but her errors weren’t even close. Her forehand, as it often does, is haemorrhaging errors. An enormous service game is coming up...
That was a tremendous set of tennis from Kenin. Many players would have been disheartened after playing so well in the first set yet losing it. Instead, she just took the positives and she looked even more confident in her ability to take control of the baseline. There were fewer dropshots and changes of pace - she just fought fire with fire.
Muguruza has to regroup here. Her first serve percentage is 43%, she came into the net 14 times in the first set but only 3 times in the second set and she is hitting far too many errors from both wings. Kenin will happily take this if she does not tighten up her game.
Sofia Kenin takes the second set to level Muguruza at 4-6 6-2
Kenin closed off the set exactly how she began it - she took control. From 30-30, she crunched a backhand return winner and then she followed it with another solid backhand return, forcing a backhand error from the Spaniard and taking the set.
Updated
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 5-2* Garbiñe Muguruza. Kenin is serving extremely well now and she pieces together another solid hold. She snatched the first point with a lovely angled crosscourt forehand, then a quick unreturned serve moved her to 30-0.
Across the net, Muguruza is just a lot more hesitant now. At 30-15, instead of finishing a great point with a forehand drive volley, she hesitated and let the ball bounce before shanking her forehand into the stands. She will serve to stay in it.
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 *4-2 Garbiñe Muguruza. Muguruza breaks the run of three successive games with a good hold. Muguruza dismissed a forehand down-the-line winner at 30-15 and then she held with a curling ace out wide.
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 4-1* Garbiñe Muguruza. An excellent hold from Kenin to consolidate the break, sealed with a serve-forehand 1-2 punch. Muguruza opened the game with a couple of loose unforced errors and a couple of worried looks to her coach. For the first time today, the Spaniard looks flustered.
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 3-1* Garbiñe Muguruza. We have a match. Kenin has wrestled control of the baseline early in set two and she is forcing the Spaniard to move. From 30-15, Kenin elicited a Muguruza error with a strong forehand cross-court then she buried a low passing shot at Muguruza’s feet, forcing a volley error. She broke with a heavy backhand return, that forced another Muguruza error and the break.
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 2-1* Garbiñe Muguruza. Make that three love games in a row as Kenin breezes through another hold. This time, she opened with a rare ace and then stepped into the court and controlled the baseline, confidently directing two point-ending backhands en route to the hold.
She seems to be learning as she goes and she already looks more comfortable on the front foot.
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 *1-1 Garbiñe Muguruza. Muguruza responds with a swift love hold of her own, sealed with a fourth ace. Quite a miraculous point from Muguruza at 15-0, who chased down a good Kenin drop shot and then just about recovered in time to hit a backhand drive volley off a decent Kenin lob before eventually stealing the point. Two good holds to begin the set.
Second set: Sofia Kenin 4-6 1-0* Garbiñe Muguruza. A very quick start to the second set for Kenin, who holds to love with ease. A couple of loose, rushed errors from Muguruza in that game. Kenin will hope that there is more where they came rom.
Garbiñe Muguruza takes the first set 6-4
Great serving from Muguruza to seal up the set. From 0-15 down, she found a serve-forehand 1-2 punch, then two successive unreturned first serves to move up 40-15. A forehand error from Kenin completed the service hold.
A really high-quality, competitive set of tennis, but Muguruza was just too good.
Updated
First set: Sofia Kenin 4-5* Garbiñe Muguruza. That set could have easily spiralled out of control after the lost break, but Muguruza did extremely well to immediately restore the break by going straight back onto the front foot. Muguruza crushed a pair of point-ending forehands to move up 15-40. On her second break point, she moved into the net behind a heavy cross-court backhand and put the volley away. She will serve for an extremely tough set.
First set: Sofia Kenin *4-4 Garbiñe Muguruza. That was brutal. Muguruza was clearly still frustrated after the missed opportunities for a double break and she completely capitulated here. She dumped a backhand long at 15-15 and then she threw in two double faults in succession to hand the break back. Muguruza is usually known for her tendency to not double fault. She must regroup.
First set: Sofia Kenin 3-4* Garbiñe Muguruza. Once again, Kenin pulls out a seemingly impossible hold. This time, Muguruza steamed to a quick 0-40 lead in a flash of winners. Kenin responded by rollicking a backhand down the line winner and then she crushed an inside-out forehand winner on the third. When Muguruza immediately brought up a fourth break point, Kenin scuppered that one with a vicious wrong-footing cross-court backhand.
Another lengthy deuce game ensued, which Kenin took hold of with a brilliant drop shot winner at deuce. She held with a lovely point-ending cross-court forehand after a serve. She cannot really play much better than that and the pressure is back on Muguruza to keep her lead.
Updated
First set: Sofia Kenin *2-4 Garbiñe Muguruza. Muguruza marched to a 30-0 lead, but Kenin quickly pegged her back with two gutsy winners in succession. At 30-30, the pair traded bullets in an epic 23 stroke rally. Both women had the initiative and neither could seize it. Kenin looked to be on top of the point with a beautiful angled cross-court forehand, but Muguruza chased it down and blistered a cross-court forehand on the run before cleaning up the following short ball.
Just as it looked like Muguruza was about to escape, Kenin crushed an inside out forehand winner to send her back to deuce. Muguruza navigated the hold impressively, eventually sealing the hold with a backhand drive volley winner off a great serve.
So far, Muguruza is putting so much pressure on Kenin, who is having to play well outside of her comfort zone just to keep up. She is playing great but she is down 2-4. This is tough.
First set: Sofia Kenin 2-3* Garbiñe Muguruza. This is already extremely tough for Kenin but she sure is fighting. Muguruza was prowling for a second break and she put Kenin under more pressure at 15-30. Kenin did what she always does in response, grinding out two successive points in a row and planting every ball on Muguruza’s often erratic forehand. After two successive forehand errors from Muguruza, Kenin found a short ball on her her backhand and pummelled it down the line to hold. A great and essential hold.
First set: Sofia Kenin *1-3 Garbiñe Muguruza. A good hold from Muguruza after throwing in a pair of double faults. She moved to 40-30 with an excellent forehand winner, but Kenin is still stepping into the court and she eradicated it with an even better backhand down the line winner.
The greatest measure of Muguruza’s alertness came at deuce, when Kenin attempted to throw in a moonball. Muguruza responded by sprinting into the net like a Spanish Usain Bolt and somehow catching the ball before it bounced, crushing a drive volley off the loopy ball. She is on a mission so far.
First set: Sofia Kenin 1-2* Garbiñe Muguruza. This is already incredibly intense, but Muguruza breaks first! Kenin looked to be moving towards a second hold at 40-30, but Muguruza responded incredibly well, pummelling returns and crushing two successive crosscourt forehand winners to bring up break point.
As a long, tense deuce game developed, Kenin saved the first break point by absolutely destroying a backhand down the line winner. On the second break point, she forced Muguruza into a backhand error with a nice forehand down the line.
But Muguruza is already putting Kenin under immense pressure. She crushed a backhand return winner to bring up a third break point and, as Kenin bravely tried to fight fire with fire, she sent an aggressive forehand wide.
So, who will win this? With her experience, her form and her performances in previous finals, Muguruza clearly begins as the favourite and she will be the main aggressor in this match. Muguruza loves to take the ball early, to change directions off both wings and to move forward in order to finish points at the net. She has also been serving much better than in previous years and her serve has held up under pressure. In this form, Muguruza will be so difficult to beat if she finds a rhythm.
Across the net, Kenin will scrap for everything and her defence will force Muguruza into errors. Kenin will have to be brave, taking on her backhand whenever the opportunity opens up and she will have to rely on her resourcefulness, throwing in drop shots and keeping Muguruza on the move with angles and width. She has to make Muguruza uncomfortable enough to miss, particularly on her forehand wing, and then it will be very interesting.
First set: Sofia Kenin *1-1 Garbiñe Muguruza. A solid opening hold from Muguruza under different circumstances. Kenin already looked fully dialled in as she pummeled a down the line forehand to move up 0-30 on the Spaniard, but Muguruza responded immediately. She served extremely well from 0-30 down very efficiently digging herself out of an early hole to secure her opening game.
First set: Sofia Kenin 1-0* Garbiñe Muguruza. What a great start from Kenin in a completely alien situation. When Muguruza elected to receive first, she was probably curious to see how tense her opponent was at the beginning. Kenin simply held to 15 with ease, throwing in a couple of drop shots and finishing by forcing an error from the Spaniard with a nice angled crosscourt forehand
The players have arrived on Rod Laver Arena. Muguruza elected to receive.
Here is Conchita Martinez on her charge, Garbiñe Muguruza:
I think she has the right attitude at the moment. She’s very focused. I seen this look before when she’s been playing really good tennis. I like how focus she is, how she’s doing everything right to put herself in a good situation, to do well, to play well.
There is no guarantees that you’re going to win because the other players are very good. I think tennis is improving. It’s really tough out there. A lot of competition.
I feel like she has the right mindset to work and to try to, of course, win every match that she plays. Hopefully tomorrow is not going to be an exception. Like I said, there’s no guarantees. There are very good players out there.
A fun thing about Kenin’s rise is that she has been well known in US tennis circles for well over a decade now and there is plenty of footage of her from when people tipped her for greatness as a youngster. Here is a 7 year old Kenin explaining exactly how she would return Andy Roddick’s serve. It is quite notable how serious and intelligent her answers are compared to the questions. She was born to do this.
What is on the line for Garbine Muguruza?
- This is the first time Muguruza has advanced past the quarterfinals.
- If Muguruza wins, she will be just the third player, including men, to win her first three slam titles on different surfaces.
- Needless to say, a win would put Muguruza one US Open title away from completing her Career Grand Slam.
- Muguruza is up to 16 in the rankings now and she will be No. 11 if she wins the title today.
A few Sofia Kenin facts.
- Kenin is the youngest Australian Open finalist since 2008.
- 7 of the last 11 Grand Slams have had first-time women’s winners.
- This is just Kenin’s third appearance at the Australian Open, marking the fewest appearances by a finalist since Martina Hingis in 1997.
- Kenin will break into the top 10 regardless and would leapfrog Serena Williams to No 7 and US No 1 with a title.
👋 @GarbiMuguruza
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
The 🇪🇸 squeezes in her final practice before the women’s final, coming up 🔜 on @RodLaverArena.#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/zNMZHrSE1J
These two finalists are neck and neck....#AusOpen | #AusOpenWithInfosys | @Infosys pic.twitter.com/QUc9fxZ8Tl
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
Here is Kenin on reaching her dream final:
I always believed I could do it. Obviously, as I started getting more serious, transitioning from juniors to the pros, of course I would love to have been in the final of a Grand Slam. I’ve always dreamed about it. Being in the final here is obviously the place where it’s the best to be.
Yeah, I just feel like I’ve always believed in myself. I’ve worked hard. I’ve pictured so many times being in the final, all the emotions, how it’s going to lead up into the final.
I mean, I feel like I’m doing good keeping my emotions. Obviously, it’s a bit emotional and stuff. I feel like everything is just paying off. I see all the hard work I’ve been putting is really showing now.
It has been fascinating to watch Muguruza on and off the court throughout the last two weeks. When she defeated Simona Halep in two extremely tight sets to reach her first slam final since 2017, her celebration”was simply a fist pump to her box while mouthing ‘c’mon’. That is all. Off the court, she is usually very extroverted and funny, but in Melbourne she has been extremely serious in her interviews and she has kept her cards close to her chest. So far it is paying off:
Definitely the mission is to get away from here with a big trophy. But big or small celebration, it’s incredible achievement. It really depends of how you’re feeling. I believe in myself that I have what it takes to play these kind of matches and to be in this stage. You try to just keep it calm. There’s many more matches to go. I’m sure the right moment there’s going to be a big celebration. For now, it’s keep it calm.
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to our coverage on women’s final day of the Australian Open, the penultimate day of the tournament. Twelve days ago, this tournament started with a typically open women’s field and it was always clear that the tournament could develop in so many different ways. Somehow, this event has still managed to produce a shock finale as 14th seed Sofia Kenin takes on unseeded Garbine Muguruza for the title.
Even as recently as the semi-final round, when Kenin faced number one Ashleigh Barty and Muguruza battled Simona Halep, this match-up was the least likely scenario. But it is far from random. Last year, Kenin enjoyed an extremely consistent breakout season as she won two titles, beat numerous top 10 players and finished the year on the cusp of the top 10. Other younger and more interesting players like Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova received more of the spotlight, but the 21 year-old has quietly developed into one of the most solid counterpunchers on the tour. Along with her retrieval skills, she can certainly punch - her backhand is already one of the best in the game and she loves to take the ball early and viciously use her opponents’ pace against her. The driving force behind Kenin’s success has been her intensity and competitive fire, which is instantly recognisable and means that she is often cold-blooded in the most important moments. Her mental strength has driven her to a first final and it is hard to believe that she will cower as she faces the newest, greatest challenge of her career tonight.
Kenin is by far the highest ranked player and the only seed in this match-up, but rankings don’t always tell the full truth. Muguruza is a former French Open and Wimbledon champion who reached the number one ranking in 2017, and she is the player that most people know. Muguruza’s quality is undeniable but she is coming off a couple of torrid years in which her ranking tumbled, leading to her finishing 2019 ranked 36th. Even at the best of times Muguruza is a streaky player, but for a long time her game was caked in unforced errors and doubt.
There were undoubtedly many reasons for her poor form, but the consensus was that her partnership with her coach Sam Sumyk was past its sell by date. At the end of last year, Muguruza finally split with Sumyk and hired 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez as her new coach. It was the obvious move - Martinez had already coached her countrywoman to the Wimbledon title in 2017 when Sumyk had to take the tournament off for personal reasons - and it would have been a surprise if their partnership hadn’t worked out. The surprise is that just a couple of weeks into their first season together, she is already back in a slam final, her career thriving once more.
Updated
