American dream! 21-year-old Sofia Kenin stuns former world No 1 Garbine Muguruza in three-set Australian Open final to claim £2.2MILLION winnings and her first Grand Slam title
- Sofia Kenin beat Garbine Muguruza to win the Australian Open on Saturday
- The 21-year-old’s rise has been impressive and she held her nerve in the final
- Kenin dropped the first set but concluded as the winner in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory
- It is Kenin’s first Grand Slam title of her career as she is set for a rankings boost
Sofia Kenin became the latest unlikely Grand Slam champion in women’s tennis when her relentless persistence proved too much for Garbine Muguruza in the Australian Open final.
Displaying shades of two other Florida-raised players with East European roots – Maria Sharapova and Monica Seles – she battled through a high quality set to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in two hours and three minutes.
Born in Moscow but having grown up in the US, there is no reason she cannot now buy the apartment she wants in Manhattan after earning £2.2million for her surprise triumph.
Sofia Kenin produced one of the performances of her career to win the Australian Open title
Ex-world No 1 Garbine Muguruza took the first set but faltered badly in the match thereafter
She had to be treated by a physio as difficulties with injury surfaced during the three-set final
Kenin grew into the contest and showed immense maturity to win her first Grand Slam aged 21
There was plenty of American tennis fans inside the Rod Laver Arena to cheer Kenin to victory
She won what was the first women’s final of the post-1968 era that did not feature a top 10 player.
Muguruza came in a slight favourite for a final whose unexpected line-up contributed to there being spare seats in the stands, the Rod Laver Arena being at least 500 short of a sellout.
The Spaniard, going for her third Major after a lean patch, should have won the first set more easily but missed three break points for 5-2 before closing it out after going ahead for 5-4.
Muguruza was targeting her third career Grand Slam title and started stronger in the first set
But Kenin toiled and looked to make it difficult before her relentlessness soon took control
She did that despite her serve regularly misfiring, and she paid the price in the second set when she was missing virtually six out of 10 first serves.
The unseeded Muguruza, often frustrated by her opponent’s retrieving skills and inability to assert her superior firepower, double faulted for the seventh time to drop serve crucially for 2-4 in the decider, and could not recover.
She double faulted again on match point, leaving the American to go to her father Alexander, stood up in the player’s box, to celebrate.
Jamie Murray and Bethanie Mattek-Sands were due to follow them on court for the mixed doubles final.
Kenin was unable to hide her surprise after a double fault saw her claim her first Grand Slam
There was mutual respect at the net at the end between the two players after the three-set final