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After suffering a defeat in three matches in a row, Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin finally reversed the trend yesterday. It wasn't exactly a clean performance against World No. 107 Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round of the WTA Lyon Open 2020, but the World No. 5 did enough to pull through.
The Russian wasn't exactly supposed to be a very easy opponent despite her lower ranking. After all, she had previously beaten Kenin in their solitary encounter before yesterday's face-off.
With her confidence shaken after her defeats in Fed Cup, Dubai and Doha, the 21-year-old obviously didn't arrive in the best frame of mind. And it was evident from her display. Even though she did manage to convert six break points out of the 18 she bagged, she also dropped her own serve thrice.
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But what matters is how she was able to lift her game on the big points - something that went missing after her Melbourne breakthrough. Now that Kenin has finally managed to come out of the slump, the top seed should be expected to play with more freedom.
In her quest to book a quarter-final spot, Kenin next faces Romanian qualifier Jaqueline Cristian, who is currently at a career-high World No. 174 ranking. The two would be facing off for the first time.
In terms of ranking, experience of high-level play and accomplishments, Kenin is miles ahead of her opponent and should be the favoured one in this clash. However, the American also cannot take Christian lightly. She has been doing pretty well on the ITF circuit and has won 13 matches so far this year, including three matches at Lyon itself after starting from qualifying.
She has gotten pretty used to the conditions and would look to challenge Kenin but the latter should be able to find herself in the quarter-finals.
Here's all you need to know about the WTA Lyon Open 2020:
Tournament: Open 6eme Sens - Metropole de Lyon, France
Category: WTA International
City: Lyon, France
Prize money: $251, 750
Tournament schedule: March 2-8, 2020
Match schedule: (1) Sofia Kenin (USA) vs (Q) Jaqueline Cristian match expected to be approx around 7:30-8 pm IST on Thursday, March 5, 2020.
Head-to-head: First meeting
Live Telecast: There will be no live telecast in India
Live Scores: Click here
