Tennis

“Serena Williams Gave Me Some Nice Words” – Sofia Kenin

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Serena Williams of The United States celebrates during The Ladies Singles Final against Angelique Kerber of Germany on day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 9, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

New Grand Slam champion on the WTA Tour Sofia Kenin hails from a country where the ladies have dominated the sport of tennis, and they continue to do it. Be it Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus, and Serena Williams, the American women have an unparalleled legacy on the tennis tour.

In the month of February, Kenin got an opportunity to share the court with Serena Williams at Fed Cup 2020. She shared about the fruitful experience of her career.

“It was super exciting. She first congratulated me, hugged me, said it was so great, so proud of me. It meant a lot coming from her. She’s my idol,” Moscow-born American tennis player Kenin said

After clinching her Australian Open title, Kenin lost her very next match to 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. At that point, Serena boosted her morale and prepared her for the next encounter. Also, Williams had lost her first Fed Cup singles rubber match to Anastasija Sevastova.

“We kind of became friends” – Sofia Kenin

“After I lost the one tough match, she saw I was pretty down, gave me some nice words. She said You know what, you just won a Grand Slam, don’t worry about it, you’re fine,” she added.

“Of course, I wanted to win. I also tried to help her out after I lost, give her some tips before the match. When she lost, she just wished us good luck. After she was super excited for us. We just got close. Yeah, we kind of became friends.”

Also during Fed Cup, World Number four Kenin also got a chance to guide Williams on how to play faster. After Kenin’s doubles victory, Team USA qualified for Fed Cup 2020 finals.

Since the beginning of Open Era tennis in 1968, except for the year 2006, every year at least an American woman has featured in a Grand Slam final.

The exceptional legacy of American women’s tennis doesn’t seem to culminate in the foreseeable future. As young promising talents like Sofia Kenin, Amanda Anisimova, and Coco Gauff ensure to carry the American flag on the WTA circuit.

Source : EssentiallySports

admin