Sofia Kenin crashes out of Linz Open after superb start

Sofia Kenin is trying to restart he career, but after a solid start of the season, she couldn't follow up with more good results.

The 24-year-old American started her 2023 season with a second-round loss at the ASB Classic in Auckland, but then, she reached the semi-finals at the Hobart International, which was her best result at a WTA event since the 2020 Roland Garros final run.

Then, Kenin lost in the first round of the Australian Open, and two weeks later, she also appeared in Austria as she signed up for the 2023 Austria Open Linz.

In the first round, she took on World No. 71, Jule Niemeier. The American, who received a wild card for the tournament in Linz, had a superb start to the match.

She broke her opponent's serve twice, and the German didn't find any answers to her questions as Kenin won the first set 6-2 in just 33 minutes.

But she couldn't follow up on that performance in the next two sets. It seemed that the second set would have to be decided in a tie-break as both players were solid on their serve, but in the eighth game, Kenin lost a 30-0 lead, as her opponent would go on to win 8 consecutive points to win the second set 6-3.

Kenin needed a good showing in the third set, but she couldn't create any chances to break her opponent. On the other hand, Niemeier had seven break points.

The German player also served three aces in the third set, winning 80% of rallies after her first serve. Using one of the break points she was offered by her opponent was enough to win the match 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 14 minutes and eliminate the 2020 Australian Open champion.

While Niemeier can now look forward to her second-round match, Kenin will continue working hard on the practice court to find her old form.