American long shot plots final twist

MELBOURNE • Serena Williams dominated the talk before the Australian Open, but today's women's final is between the unseeded Garbine Muguruza and the unheralded Sofia Kenin - a 750-1 longshot of a championship match that nobody predicted.

Kenin, 21, can even supplant 23-time Major singles champion Williams as the top-ranked American at world No. 7, if she manages another plot twist by beating Spain's Muguruza.

Kenin is in her first Major final, having never made it past the fourth round of any of the Slams.

But what she lacks in experience, the American more than makes up for in courage and confidence.

"I've always had that, no matter who I'm playing, where I'm playing, I'm going to fight for it," said Kenin, who moved to the US from Russia as a baby with her family.

She is looking to add to the trend of new Major champions. The last 11 Grand Slam events have produced seven maiden winners - Bianca Andreescu (2019 US Open), Ashleigh Barty (2019 French Open), Naomi Osaka (2018 US Open), Simona Halep (2018 French Open), Caroline Wozniacki (2018 Australian Open), Sloane Stephens (2017 US Open) and Jelena Ostapenko (2017 French Open).

Muguruza won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017. But she has played her part in the unlikely final - the first time in the Open era that the Australian Open final has not had at least one of the top 10 seeds.

Former No. 1 Muguruza, 26, had won only one match between June and December last year and dropped to world No. 32.

She arrived in Melbourne unseeded for the first time at a Grand Slam since 2014 and recovering from a virus.

She was then thrashed 6-0 by a qualifier in her first set here. But she now finds herself a win away from becoming just the seventh woman with a Slam title on each surface after Williams, Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Maria Sharapova and Hana Mandlikova.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Justine Henin believes Muguruza will come out tops today.

"I think Muguruza is the clear favourite to win, of course, because of her experience at the Grand Slams," said the Belgian.

"It looks like her mind is completely on court, totally connected to what she's doing.

"It's great to see her back at this level. She's had lots of ups and downs for sure but she's a girl who has the potential to play semi-finals and finals everywhere."

Muguruza becomes the first Spanish woman since her coach Conchita Martinez in 1998 to make an Australian Open final.

Martinez said yesterday that Muguruza has to be the one taking charge in the final against "fighter" Kenin in order to prevail.

The 47-year-old said: "(Kenin) strikes the ball good. She is aggressive. So... the key is going to be to stay with her, to stay aggressive, try to be the one in command."

An unseeded player has won the Australian Open on only two occasions in the Open era - Williams in 2007 and Chris O'Neil in 1978.

Kenin won her only meeting with Muguruza, in Beijing last year, and will draw from that encounter.

"Of course, I want to do the first punches. I don't want to be in defence against her. She can really put the ball away. She's really aggressive," she said. "So I feel like it's going to be who's controlling the points more, who is dictating. Hopefully I can use what I did in Beijing to help me."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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