Sharapova's firepower too much for Kenin, who puts up admirable fight

NEW YORK—When it began, Friday’s nightcap had the makings of an unmitigated blowout. Maria Sharapova, five-time major winner and former No. 1, was facing 18-year-old, 139th-ranked Moscow native and Florida resident Sofia Kenin, who hadn’t won a Grand Slam match before this week. For two games, Kenin worked to calm her nerves and find her feet, while the rest of the world hoped she would at least win one game and spare us from the possibility of witnessing a double bagel on national TV.

But Kenin, who reached the final of the US Open girls’ event two years ago, got that monkey off her back in the third game and settled in to give Sharapova a fight. While she was pushed backward by Sharapova’s drives, Kenin showed quick feet and a counterpuncher’s ability to absorb and redirect pace. Her roundhouse backhand was particularly well-struck. Walking fast, breathing hard, yelling encouragement at herself and running down everything she could, Kenin mixed it up with Sharapova and won the crowd over.

Sharapova started slowly but, like Rafael Nadal the previous night, found her game when she needed it. For the first 30 minutes, she was ragged and erratic, missing nearly as many forehands as she made. But when a Kenin first-set win began to seem possible, Sharapova’s shots began to find the corners—she was especially good with the swing volley. The tale of Sharapova’s 7-5, 6-2 win can be told with one stat: She finished with 38 winners to Kenin’s seven.

The match will be remembered mostly for giving us the point of the tournament so far, in which, to the escalating shrieks of the crowd, Kenin traversed the length of the court twice, only to have Sharapova flip a lob over her head for another winner.

The victory moves Sharapova into the fourth round, where she’ll face Anastasija Sevastova. Many of us felt that it wouldn’t take Sharapova long to find her old form, and she’s on her way there. The question now is: Can she find it in time to win the tournament? That’s not a question many of us felt we’d be asking five days ago.

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