French Open: Sofia Kenin upsets Garica to reach third round

Paris, May 29 (IANS) Former French Open runner-up Sofia Kenin continued her resurgence with a straight sets upset of No.21 seed Caroline Garcia to reach the third round in women’s singles for the fourth time.
The 56th-ranked American had a disastrous start to 2024, winning just one of her first 11 matches. But on Wednesday, Kenin, who found her groove in style in Rome, upsetting Ons Jabeur en route to the third round, romped to a 6-3, 6-3 victory in 1 hour and 25 minutes on a rain-interrupted day in the French capital.
On Court Philippe-Chatrier, Kenin delivered another cool-headed tactical performance to take out the French No.1, her third win in as many meetings with Garcia. Indeed, Kenin has yet to drop a set in their rivalry so far.
Garcia fell to her fourth consecutive second-round exit at Roland Garros, and the 11th time she has lost before the third round in 14 appearances to date. Only three home players remain in the draw: Varvara Gracheva, Diane Parry and Chloe Paquet.
In the pivotal fifth game of the first set, Kenin chased down a full-blast Garcia smash to land a lob precisely in the corner of the home player’s court. Garcia ended that rally, and the next, with wild forehand errors to drop serve for the first time.
Kenin will next face either No.9 seed and 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko or Clara Tauson as she bids to make the second week of a major for the first time since Roland Garros 2021.
–IANS
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