When 15-year-old Coco Gauff defeated Venus Williams in the first round of Wimbledon four years ago and advanced to the round of sixteen, she made her mark on the tennis world. The American, who was widely predicted to win this year, lost in the opening round to a resurgent Sofia Kenin, a former grand slam champion who had fallen from grace. Kenin defeated the American 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 on Monday. In tennis, nothing is certain.

The No. 7 seed stated, “I’m really irritated and sad right now.” It motivates me to put in even more effort. Even though it seems like I’ve been working hard, it’s obviously not enough. I must go back to the drawing board and assess my areas of weakness and how to perform the appropriate drills to address them.

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When Gauff bounced back to tie the match at one set all but world No. 128 on Court No. 1, it appeared as though she had weathered the storm. Kenin, who had to meet the requirements to enter the main draw, displayed incredible bravery to win one of the biggest titles since her 2020 Australian Open triumph.

Kenin remarked, “This means a lot.” “I’m really proud of myself; I had to go through qualifying, I fought there, and I treated this match like any other match.”

After winning the Australian Open and making it to the French Open final, Kenin was cruising to the top of the women’s tennis rankings three years ago.

However, she suffered ankle injuries and had a rocky coaching relationship with her father, which hindered her progress to the point where she was once ranked outside of the top 400.

However, she displayed the same type of performance on Monday that propelled her to grand slam success and a career-high ranking of No 4, outwitting Gauff with a barrage of drop shots, angles, and forceful hitting that never let the American get comfortable. In the fourth game of the championship set, Kenin maintained serve under tremendous duress, and that was the key to the match; after that, she drew away for a well-earned triumph.

In a way that was recognizable, Gauff also had a part in Kenin’s demise. Her serve, which has been much better lately, misfired at critical moments, resulting in double faults; her weak point, the forehand, let her down consistently, even on the last point when she slammed it into the net. “I understood, in important moments, to hit to the forehand,” as Kenin stated.

Gauff remarked, “She has nothing to lose today.” Although she clearly won a grand slam, her career is currently struggling. So I knew she would play with a lot of motivation when I got there.

It all came down to how I would play and handle my end of the court today. I did at times, but it was clearly insufficient.

In the quarterfinals, Gauff was slated to take on Iga Swiatek, the top player in the world. Kenin now follows that route.

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Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Swiatek still doesn’t know a lot about the world of tennis. The 22-year-old Pole has won three of the last five grand slam competitions, for a total of four wins. However, she had never experienced the whims of the little rain delay prior to Monday.

After winning 6-1, 6-3, she remarked, “I honestly haven’t got the experience I think of suspended match, then come back after just like 15 minutes.” “I was curious to see how things would proceed. I’m glad things went well and that I was able to wrap it up.

The American Lauren Davis put the fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula to the test before she prevailed 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-3. No. 5 seed Caroline Garcia of France defeated American Katy Volynets 6-4, 6-3, and No. 11 seed Daria Kasatkina, who finished runner-up in Eastbourne over the weekend, overcame Caroline Dolehide despite a painful back.