Melbourne: In a major upset in the Australian Open Women's Singles, American Sofia Kenin reached the tournament final after defeating Australia’s Ashleigh Barty 7-6(6), 7-5 on Thursday.
21-year-old Kenin overcame Barty, 23, in a tough encounter at the Rod Laver Arena to book her place in the final. It is the first time that Kenin will be playing in a Grand Slam final.
Expressing her disappointment to knock out of the tournament, Barty admitted that she failed to play biggest points well enough to emerge victorious while also lauding her opponent Sofia for playing aggressively on those points.
“Yeah, it's disappointing. But it's been a hell of a summer. I mean, if you would have told me three weeks ago that we would have won a tournament in Adelaide, made the semifinals of the Australian Open, I'd take that absolutely every single day of the week.But I put myself in a position to win the match today and just didn't play the biggest points well enough to be able to win," the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) quoted Barty as saying.
“I have to give credit where credit's due. Sofia came out and played aggressively on those points and deserved to win," she added.
Kenin, seeded 14th in the tournament, now awaits the winner of the Simona Halep versus Garbine Muguruza match in the final. Halep faces Muguruza in the second semifinal of Australian Open women's singles later on Thursday.
