Sofia Kenin moves into Rome second round with battling win, Leylah Fernandez out
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Sofia Kenin of the US in action during her round of 128 match against Spain's Cristina Bucsa.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ROME – Sofia Kenin was made to work hard by Cristina Bucsa at the Italian Open on Tuesday, before the former Australian Open champion prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (8-10), 7-5 to set up a second-round meeting with world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
American Kenin, who was once ranked No. 4 but has slipped to 134th in the world following her 2020 Melbourne Park triumph due to illness and injuries, was far from her best but managed to get past Bucsa in a little over three hours.
“It was obviously tough, but I was able to somehow get through. I didn’t feel 100 per cent but it doesn’t matter, a win is a win and I’m going to take it,” said the 24-year-old, who converted seven of her 21 break points.
“It could have gone either way and it was a matter of who could be mentally strong. I felt tired and... after three hours, I’d imagine that she was too, so I just had to battle it out.”
Former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez was beaten 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3 by Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while 2019 French Open runner-up Marketa Vondrousova overcame Kaia Kanepi 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 in other first-round matches.
Earlier, former doubles world No. 1 Barbora Strycova downed Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 for her first singles victory since 2020 following her return to the WTA tour at last week’s Madrid Open from a two-year maternity break.
The 37-year-old Czech will take on world No. 8 Maria Sakkari in the second round.
“I can’t believe it,” said Strycova, who celebrated her victory with her son Vincent.
“I don’t know how it feels because I didn’t really process it. I went off the court and right away grabbed my son because he was hungry. So I wasn’t really realising I won the match.
“I’m very happy. Also, I feel a little strange because he’s here and I will be changing a diaper... instead of getting a glass of wine.”
The men’s tournament headlined by six-time champion Novak Djokovic and Rome debutant Carlos Alcaraz started on Wednesday. World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, who won 18 of his 19 titles, including the 2021 US Open, on hard courts, said that he wants to focus on playing more spin and sharpen his slide to develop his game on clay.
The 27-year-old arrives in Rome on the back of a quarter-final exit at the Monte Carlo Masters and a last-16 defeat in Madrid.
Asked about what he has to do in order to play good tennis on clay, the Russian said: “Play definitely some more spin. Especially the sliding, I think the sliding was always a problem.
“After Madrid, a couple days I practised there, I tried really a lot to focus on the sliding, on the movement. I felt like I improved in these couple of days.”
Medvedev will begin his campaign against Ugo Humbert or Emil Ruusuvuori. REUTERS
