Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin faced a formidable first-round opponent in the form of top-seeded Polish superstar Iga Swiatek as she sought to regain her form in Melbourne. Unfortunately for the American, her struggles persisted as she fell to Swiatek, the reigning French Open champion, in a hard-fought contest on Tuesday.
Kenin, who clinched the 2020 Australian Open title but suffered defeat to Swiatek in the 2020 French Open final, experienced a challenging encounter. Despite initially leading 3-1 in the opening set and serving for it at 5-4, Kenin couldn’t maintain her advantage as Swiatek fought back to level the set. The Polish sensation then dominated the tiebreaker, winning three of the first four points served by Kenin.
In the second set, Swiatek continued her momentum, securing the final four games and serving out the match at love. The victory, which took 1 hour and 51 minutes, marked Swiatek’s 17th consecutive win, including titles at Beijing, the WTA Finals in Cancun last year, and three wins in the United Cup to start 2024.
Reflecting on the match, Swiatek acknowledged the initial difficulty in finding her rhythm but commended Kenin for her efforts to disrupt the flow. Swiatek expressed satisfaction with her improved performance in the second set, stating, “I’m happy that I managed to get my level up.”
The defeat leaves Kenin with a 1-3 record this year, following three losses in her final four matches of the previous year. In other early Tuesday action at the Australian Open, No. 14 Russian Daria Kasatkina overcame the United States’ Peyton Stearns 6-2, 3-6, 6-2. Unseeded American Sloane Stephens secured a convincing victory over Australian Olivia Gadecki with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-1, while Italian Martina Trevisan battled past Mexico’s Renata Zarazua 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy defeated Swiss qualifier Lulu Sun 6-1, 7-5.
