By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, October 8, 2020
A spirited Sofia Kenin conquered Petra Kvitova 6-4, 7-5 roaring into her first Roland Garros final and raising her Grand Slam record to 16-1 this season.
Photo credit: @RolandGarros
Straddling the baseline, a spirited Sofia Kenin saw Petra Kvitova’s late charge coming.
Playing with passion and prescience, Kenin repelled the rally and roared into her first Roland Garros final.
More: Swiatek Soars Into Roland Garros Final
Defusing the Czech’s flat drives, Kenin took this moment on the rise conquering Kvitova 6-4, 7-5 advancing to her second Grand Slam final of the season.
Wielding a star-spangled Babolat racquet and exhorting herself continuously, Kenin brought the fireworks defeating the powerful Czech for the first time in three meetings raising her Grand Slam record to 16-1 this season.
This was a dynamic performance of tactical acumen, smooth movement, bold-shotmaking, strong serving and straight-up fierce desire from Kenin, who had never surpassed a clay-court quarterfinal in any event prior to Paris yet showed absolutely no fear of the explosive Grand Slam champion across the net.
A committed Kenin summed up her performance simply.
“I’m just really fierce,” Kenin told Tennis Channel’s Jon Wertheim afterward. “I’m just fighting for every point. I’m in the semis of course they’re not gonna give it to me. I really have to go after it and fight for it.
“I feel like in the past I’ve always expected them to make a mistake. Now I’ve got the mindset I’ve got to take the chance take the risk— big margins obviously—so far so good.”
The clever Kenin played pivotal points with ambition. Kenin converted four of five break-point chances while denying 10 of the 12 break points she faced. The Australian Open champion served 69 percent and even out-aced the two-time semifinalist, 3-2.
The victory vaults Kenin into Saturday’s final against another offensive powerhouse Poland’s Iga Swiatek, who slammed Argentinean qualifier Nadia Podoroska 6-2, 6-1. Swiatek has not surrendered a set in six matches and has dropped as many as four games in a set just once, including her 6-1, 6-2 demolition of top-seeded Simona Halep.
Though this will be the first pro-level match between Swiatek and Kenin, the 19-year-old Pole topped the American baseliner in the Roland Garros girls event a few years back.
Kenin took the court with 91 backhand winners to her credit and immediately imposed that shot breaking for 2-1.
The Australian Open champion consolidated at 30. Striking with conviction, Kenin cracked a forehand return down the line for double break point and when Kvitova scattered an error, the American was up 4-1 just 15 minutes into the match.
While first-time French Open semifinalist Kenin was commanding, Kvitova couldn’t keep the ball in the court on key points at the outset.
"The conditions were not very nice. Obviously for my game, it's not really perfect," Kvitova said. "But anyway, I think that Sofia played great tennis today. She was better on the court today. I was really trying to fight for every point. I was trying to still be in the match and still wait for the chance, which actually just came little small one, then she took it again.
"Definitely she was playing very well today. She was moving very well actually. That was probably the key today. Yeah, she deserved to win for sure today. She was just better."
The ability to absorb power and play off that pace is a Kenin asset. Hugging the baseline, Kenin refuses to give up ground, bends low and uses her legs to repel pace and drive deep replies.
That changed in the sixth game when the Czech earned triple break point. Kvitova ran down a drop shot and nudged a reply off a net cord—celebrating prematurely only to see the American nearly pull off a pass.
That sequence gave Kvitova a break back.
Sliding an ace down the middle, Kvitova confirmed the break holding at 30 for 3-4.
Kenin erased a break point with some strong serving to hold in the eighth game; Kvitova answered with a love hold in the ninth game.
Serving for the set, Kenin was down 15-30 when she hit a series of deep drives pushing Kvitova back behind the baseline before pulling the string on a slick forehand drop shot winner. Kvitva’s second return error of the game gave Kenin set point. She double faulted it away but drew another errant Kvitova return snatching a one-set lead after 39 minutes.
The world No. 6 served 79 percent in the opening set limiting the looks the left-hander had to attack her second serve.
It was the first set Kvitova lost in the tournament. Would she turn it around?
Elevating her emotional intensity, Kvitova screamed to punctuate a clean forehand strike down the line holding for a 2-1 second-set lead.
Constantly firing herself up with loud cries of “come on!” that reverberated around Court Philippe Chatrier, Kenin made Kvitova work for every point. Zapping a crosscourt return that dragged the Czech into the doubles alley, Kenin curled a crosscourt forehand into the open court scoring the first break of the second set for 3-2.
The bigger the point, the bolder Kenin played.
Nearly every time Kenin stared down a break point she responded with a statement shot. The Australian Open champ denied a second break point pasting a backhand off the sideline then scooted up for a drop shot shoveling a winner into the corner saving a third break point. Kenin navigated a tense 11-and-a-half minute hold backing up the break for 4-2.
Much has been made of Kenin’s unique habit of taking her eyes off the ball as her toss goes aloft. The Kenin serve was a keystroke today as she slashed her third ace holding for 5-3. Credit Kvitova for continuing to fight. She slammed a running forehand down the line holding in the ninth game and forcing Kenin to serve it out.
Though Kenin had fought off eight of nine break points in the match the pressure of closing spiked nerve as she committed three straight errors to face triple break point. Kvitova hooked a crosscourt forehand coaxing a fourth error to break back and level after 10 games.
That was Kenin's moment of truth and she met it with the same feisty spirit she's shown throughout this tournament.
"I just kept telling myself to keep fighting," Kenin said. "I mean, I obviously expected her to play better. Yes, I went down on myself, but I just told myself to keep playing.
"I'm just so happy to have converted that, getting the 6-5 lead. I tried to close it out the best I could."
Resetting, Kenin continued cranking deep drives that danced near the lines drawing a backhand error to break right back for 6-5.
Landing lines three times, Kvitova torched a forehand down the line for break point only to net a forehand on the next point.
When the Wimbledon winner sailed a forehand, Kenin had match point. A final forehand missed the mark and the 21-year-old Kenin exhaled deeply through to her second Grand Slam final of the season.