Sofia Kenin earns a redemptive win on No.1 Court and deals Coco Gauff a frustrating defeat

Had the world not taken an unprecedented turn for the worse in 2020, there’s a good chance the first round match played today on No.1 Court at Wimbledon between Sofia Kenin and seventh-seeded Coco Gauff might well have been at least a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Over the course of two hours and three minutes, Kenin earned a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory. With depth, power and movement, Kenin played the kind of high-energy, tactically astute tennis that served as a reminder of how much a contender she truly can be. Time and time again, with pace and accuracy, Kenin found ways to probe, erode, and extract errors from the weaker Gauff forehand. She also matched Gauff in many a backhand-to-backhand rally and served superbly. Kenin got in 76 percent of her first serves, saved four of six break points, and won a dazzling 76 percent of second-serve points. “I’m super happy,” said Kenin. “I knew I needed to play my best in order to win.”

Recall that Kenin’s title run at the 2020 Australian Open marks the last time an American woman has won a singles major. Along the way to that triumph, Kenin earned a three-set win over Gauff in the round of 16. Weeks later, just prior to the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, Kenin attained a career high ranking of number four in the world and that fall advanced to the final at Roland Garros. But various injuries have contributed to Kenin’s ranking dropping to No. 416 as recently as last August. Now back up to 128, Kenin got into Wimbledon this year the hard way. “I had to go through qualies,” she said following today’s match. “I battled out there.”

“She had nothing to lose today,” said Gauff. “Obviously she won a Grand Slam, but she's in a tough spot in her career. So I knew coming in she would play with a lot of motivation. It was all about how I would play today and how I would take care of my end of the court. I did in certain moments, but obviously not enough.”

Adroit as Kenin can be at drop shots and variations in pace, those tactical wrinkles scarcely surfaced in this match. Instead, from the start, Kenin struck the ball early and hard. All that instant alertness helped Kenin break Gauff at 1-1 in the first set and stay in the lead the whole way. Said Kenin, “I knew she'd be a bit more, like, nervous because more pressure's on her than me. I just tried to use everything I could this match to my advantage.”

With trademark tenacity, Gauff fought back. As swiftly as Kenin had taken charge of the first set, Gauff went up 3-0 in the second. Even then, though, Kenin was resolute. She leveled the set at 3-all, forcing Gauff to find yet one more gear. To her credit it, Gauff found it, delivering her own mix of movement, power, and precision. With Kenin serving at 4-5, Gauff broke to level the match.

Now it was Kenin’s turn to regain control. She broke Gauff to start the third set and soon led 2-0. A major turning point came in the fourth game. Serving at 2-1, 40-15, Kenin overhit a crosscourt forehand and netted a high forehand volley. There followed some of the finest rallies you’ll ever see. One lasted 17 shots, another went 23. These were sparkling displays of all-court coverage, power, and intensity, each player repeatedly recovering from the brink. Tellingly, both were won by Kenin, who over the course of this 16-point game fought off three break points to eventually take a 3-1 lead.

I knew coming in she would play with a lot of motivation. It was all about how I would play today and how I would take care of my end of the court. Coco Gauff on Sofia Kenin

Impressive as it always is to witness Gauff compete, by the crunch stages of this match, it had just become too tough for her to get a hold of Kenin. On the ledge, serving at 2-4, 15-40, Gauff struck three great serves to gain an ad, only to double-fault. There followed two forehand errors, the second delicately generated by a Kenin slice backhand. Surely, the two break lead aided Kenin, who at 5-2, 30-30 again went after the Gauff forehand. One flew wide, the last one went into the net. For Gauff, a frustrating loss.

“Right now I'm very frustrated and disappointed,” she said. “So, yeah, I think it makes me want to work even harder. I feel like I have been working hard, but clearly it's not enough. I have to go back to the drawing board and see where I need to improve and how to do the right drills to do that.”

For Kenin, a redemptive win. And for fans, a potentially rich rivalry between two highly-skilled Americans.

“I feel like women's tennis, U.S. women's tennis is, like, unbelievable right now,” said Kenin. “Everyone is playing so well. Jessie, Maddie, Coco of course, everyone else. That obviously tries to push me out there to be, like, at the top. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just great for American tennis. I'm just super happy.”