Kenin Overwhelmed By Saville's Inspired Play In Hobart

| by Erik Virostko

Sofia Kenin won't be happy with how she started her 2024 WTA season, as she lost also in her second match at the 2024 Hobart International to Daria Saville.

After losing in her opening match of the season in Brisbane, the American made a decision to take the Hobart International wild card, where she wanted to get back to her top form.

After the great end of the 2023 season and even better World Tennis League participation, where she managed to beat even Aryna Sabalenka, many expected big things from Kenin in 2024, but that is yet to happen.

In Brisbane, she lost to Arina Rodionova, and in Hobart, she started with a win against Greet Minnen, but in the second round of the tournament, another Australian proved to be a problem, this time Daria Saville, who has been in a solid form lately.

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The first set of the match was a real battle and both players had many chances to jump into a more significant lead. First, Kenin led 2-0 with one break, but she then lost her advantage, and suddenly, at 2-4 and 30-40, the American was one point away from going two breaks down.

But she then started an inspired string of points, winning 11 out of the following 13 rallies to lead 5-4 and at 30-0 in the following games, the 2020 Australian Open champion was only two points away from winning the first set.

She would get into that position a few more times in the first set, but never close enough to have a set point. Ultimately, the first set was decided in a tie-break, and Saville punished the American for all of her missed chances, winning the tie-break 7-3.

After losing the first set, Kenin wasn't able to produce good-enough level in the second set, and it resulted in a simple win for Saville, who cruised to the finish line, winning 7-6(3), 6-1.

The Australian will now play in the quarterfinals against the third-seeded Lin Zhu, while Kenin will want to forget the loss and prepare for the tournament, which she managed to win four years ago.

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Daria Saville vs Sofia Kenin Match Stats:

Daria Saville Sofia Kenin
13 Aces 1
3 Double Faults 1
80% First Serve % 74%
65% Points Won After First Serve % 56%
50% Points Won After Second Serve % 39%
4/5 Break Point Conversion 2/6

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