Sofia Kenin defeated Petra Kvitova, a fellow Grand Slam winner, in the first round of the Miami Open and will now face Coco Gauff in the second round.
The American, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, beat Czech Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, with scores of 6-4, 7-5.
The match lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. This win tied Kenin’s head-to-head record with Kvitova at 2-2. Kvitova had previously won in Miami in 2018.
In the next round, Kenin will play against Coco Gauff, currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Their head-to-head record is even, with two wins each.
Their past matches include significant moments. Kenin defeated Gauff at the 2020 Australian Open on her way to winning the title.
Conversely, Kenin’s victory over Gauff at Wimbledon 2023 motivated Gauff to make changes that led to her US Open victory later that year.
Gauff recently defeated Kenin at the 2024 Australian Open in straight sets.
Kvitova, a former world No. 2 and Miami Open champion (2022), returned to tennis after giving birth to her son last July.
She is yet to win a match since her return, losing in the first rounds of tournaments in Austin and Indian Wells.
Key moments: Kvitova struggled with double faults early in the match and lost an initial lead in the first set. Kenin effectively used drop shots, winning the first set after being down 0-2.
Kenin had a match point at 5-4 in the second set, which Kvitova saved. However, Kenin got two more match points later.
Kenin won the match on her second match point when Kvitova hit a backhand wide. Kvitova had more winners, but also significantly more unforced errors.
