By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday, October 5, 2020
Sofia Kenin is learning to embrace the clay, and making her presence felt deep in another Grand Slam singles draw at Roland Garros.
The 2020 Australian Open champion rallied past France’s Fiona Ferro in fourth-round action on Court Philippe Chatrier, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Kenin advances to face either Ons Jabeur or Danielle Collins in the quarterfinals. Jabeur and Collins had their round of 16 contest postponed due to rain on Monday in Paris.
In their first main draw meeting, 21-year-old Kenin overcame a shaky opening set against Ferro and finished by winning 12 of the final 15 games to claim victory in one hour and 44 minutes.
Kenin improves to 9-3 in three-setters this year and 22-8 overall. She had never been past the fourth-round at Roland Garros before, but has won seven of her last eight on the terre battue in Paris, and reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Kenin is now 14-1 at Grand Slams for the season.
Ferro, playing in her first round of 16 match at a major, said she enjoyed the experience, even though it ended bitterly.
"It was amazing," she said. "I would have loved that it lasted longer. But I am a bit sad to lose today. This is what I practice for, for moments like this. I was lucky to play three matches on the center court. It was an unbelievable experience for me. I will do everything to be back as soon as possible."
World No.6 Kenin broke out in tears after the match, and said her emotions were due to the intensity of the struggle she faced while playing a French player in front of a vocal, partisan crowd.
She was asked about the tears in her post-match press conference, and explained that it was a combination of factors.
“Emotions of different stuff,” she said. “Obviously the crowd wasn't for me. It was obviously tough on me. I was obviously happy. Quarterfinals. I obviously wanted to win. Yeah, just emotions about that. Of course joy. I was super proud of myself. I wish I wouldn't have cried. But like I said, it was a lot of emotions.”
Kenin’s father and coach, Alex Kenin, caught the attention of television cameras when he switched his seat and moved next to Ferro’s coach, Emmanuel Planque, in the second set.
The sat side by side for the remainder of the match, which added a bizarre dynamic to the match.
“First of all, I mean, I don't know why her coach sat in that section,” Kenin said. :On the right, it's the higher seed. I would imagine that he would be sitting on the other side. I didn't really understand why he was sitting there.
She added: “I mean, my dad sat there. He tried to help me, so I'm not going to—I really don't know what I can really say about that. I don't know what to say. I mean, he just sat there and it worked. There's nothing much to discuss about that."
Kenin finished with 39 winners against 29 unforced errors, and won 29 of the 43 rallies that ended between five and eight strokes.