Second seed Sofia Kenin of the United States was sent crashing out of the US Open on Monday, beaten in straight sets by Elise Mertens of Be...
Second seed Sofia Kenin of the United States was sent crashing out of the US Open on Monday, beaten in straight sets by Elise Mertens of Belgium.
Kenin, the highest seeded player left in the tournament and winner of the 2020 Australian Open, was bundled out of the last 16 6-3, 6-3, in 1hr 14 mins by Mertens.
Mertens, the 16th seed, will now play Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the quarter-finals.
Kenin, who had not lost a game in her first three rounds, never got her service game together against Mertens.
The 21-year-old Moscow-born player won only 56 percent of first serve points compared to 75 percent for Mertens.
Kenin also hit three double faults, while Mertens hit none.
Mertens, ranked 18th in the world, smashed eight aces, while Kenin failed to muster any.
For the first time in Grand Slam history, three moms are into the quarterfinal.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2020
1. Serena Williams
2. Victoria Azarenka
3. Tsvetana Pironkova
Serena the battler
Williams had to summon up every last ounce of strength to depose 15th seed Maria Sakkari in three hard-fought sets.
The 38-year-old American needed almost two and a half hours to dislodge her 25-year-old Greek opponent 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 inside an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
“She’s such a good competitor. It was a really intense match,” said...
