Sofia Kenin made a major mark on Roland Garros' red clay, but believes she can deliver her most dynamic tennis on Wimbledon's green grass.
The 20-year-old Floridian stunned 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams to reach the Roland Garros round of 16 where she took a set off eventual-champion Ashleigh Barty before bowing.
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Kenin backed up that result fighting off three championship points to beat Belinda Bencic, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4, to capture her first career grass-court title in Mallorca last month.
The 27th-seeded Kenin swept Astra Sharma, 6-4, 6-2, in her Wimbledon opener, raising her 2019 grass-court record to 6-1.
"Yeah, the transition wasn't so easy, you know, going from clay where you're going to grind every point going to grass where the ball is literally skidding and everything is so fast," Kenin told the media at Wimbledon. "But I know grass is my surface, and I wasn't too worried after that.
"When I got to Mallorca, I had some good practices, and obviously I won there, which was very good, and leading up to Wimbledon, which is, yeah, gives me a lot of confidence and I'm hoping to keep it going."
Though Kenin's clay success in Paris earned her a reputation as a feisty grinder, the truth is she plays her best tennis straddling the baseline, taking the ball on the rise and changing direction on her drives. Kenin asserts grass rewards her aggression.
"I'm agressive, and I like to take the ball early," Kenin said. "You know, sometimes throw in some slices, dropshots, and the ball is low. No one likes when the ball is coming, like, really fast and low. That's obviously really good. I feel like I'm serving really well on grass, so gonna keep that up, yeah."
Those are all assets Kenin will need when she faces talented teenager Dayana Yastremska, who swept Camila Giorgi, 6-3, 6-3, in her first-round match.
Photo credit: Fila