WHAT HAPPENED: A likely star-of-the-future Sofia Kenin met a star of the not so distant past CoCo Vandeweghe in a heavyweight all-American first round US Open clash on opening day on Monday.
The twenty-year-old Kenin with a match world ranking of No. 20 moved on with an entertaining 7-6, 6-3 win over the 2017 US Open semifinalist.
Kenin burst on the scene at Roland Garros this spring when she toppled all-time great Serena Williams to reach the fourth round. She continued to sizzle this summer, notching four Top-10 wins in reaching the semifinals in Toronto and Cincinnati.
While Kenin has been on a fast track up, Vandeweghe was simply trying to get back on the court after being sidelined with a right-ankle injury since last fall.
Ranked No. 10 in the world in 2017 when she also made the Australian Open semifinals, the 27-year-old’s ranking had plummeted to No. 469 and Vandeweghe grabbed one of the final spots in the Open main draw through the protected ranking ruling.
And for most of the match, Vandeweghe gave Kenin all she could handle in a bang-bang battle. The pair traded forehand bombs, deep and blistering backhands and booming serves. Vandeweghe hit 116 mph on an ace to hold serve to force the tiebreak and averaged 100 mph. Kenin never dropped her serve and faced only three break points in the entire match.
There were no service breaks in the 56-minute opening set that went Kenin’s way in the tiebreak when Vandeweghe dropped her serve at 3-4 on a backhand error. Kenin took the tiebreak 7-4 on Vandeweghe’s 29th error of the set.
The match, however, took on a more somber feel in the closing moments when Vandeweghe took a heavy tumble on the court that sent a hush over the Grandstand fans. Vandeweghe got the right ankle taped and returned to the court but was definitely hobbled in the last two games.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN: In her young career Kenin has prospered here on the US Open hard courts. She has made the third round the past two years and has a good chance of matching that result again this year. She will be the favorite in her next match against No. 90 Laura Siegemund.
MATCH POINT: Kenin’s game is built for hard courts. This was her 25th win on hard courts this season, among the leaders on the WTA Tour. How would she do in a possible marquee third round matchup against 2017 US Open finalist Madison Keys?
