Australian Open: Sofia Kenin reaches first Grand Slam semi-final
| 2020 Australian Open |
|---|
| Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 20 January to 2 February |
| Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app; Watch highlights on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. |
American Sofia Kenin reached her maiden Grand Slam semi-final with victory over unseeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur at the Australian Open.
The 14th seed, who ended American teenager Coco Gauff’s run in the previous round, won 6-4 6-4.
She will face Australian world number one Ashleigh Barty or Czech 2019 runner-up Petra Kvitova for a place in Saturday’s final.
“I’m super excited,” said 21-year-old Kenin, 21. “It was a tough match.”
Kenin saved three break points at 2-3 in the second set in a near 10-minute game and she said this had been key to the victory.
“After that I got my momentum and started playing better,” she said.
World number 78 Jabeur, the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final, showed plenty of fighting spirit and saved five set points in the first set before pushing Kenin hard in the second, but ultimately paid the price of 36 unforced errors.
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