WTA Rome: Victoria Azarenka shoots Sofia Kenin from the court
Victoria Azarenka shows no signs of tiredness: The Belarusian, who was in the final of the US Open a few days ago, defeated Sofia Kenin 6-0 and 6-0 in the second round of the WTA tournament in Rome.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 17, 2020, 08:50 pm
After all: Steffi Graf's legendary French Open success against Natascha Zvereva needed even less time than Azarenka against Kenin: Graf was the winner in 1988 after 32 minutes of play, Kenin at least managed to save himself over the hour mark. The result was exactly the same: 6-0, 6-0, the maximum penalty. Which is all the more astonishing since Azarenka only played the final of the US Open on Saturday (local time) in New York City, where she lost in three sets against Naomi Osaka. After that, the Belarusian had traveled to Rome and had defeated Venus Williams in round one.
Kenin, in turn, had won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year - and after her elimination in the round of 16 at the US Open against Elise Mertens had significantly more time to play on clay. Small detail: Azarenka and Kenin had played doubles together in Flushing Meadows, but failed in round two due to the later winners Vera Zvonareva and Laura Siegemund. In the round of 16 on Friday, Victoria Azarenka will face Daria Kasatkina, who had fought her way into the main draw through qualification.
In the afternoon Garbine Muguruza was able to prevail against Cori Gauff with 7: 6 (3), 3: 6 and 6: 3, but the number eight of the tournament, Petra Martic, was eliminated. Like a few days ago, the Croatian lost to Yulia Putintseva in three sets. Kiki Bertens is also no longer there. The Dutch lost in her first tournament after the Corona break against Polona Hercog 4: 6 and 4: 6.