Sophia Kenin could become the first American since Serena Williams won two major shows in one year

Sofia Kenin has already won the Grand Slam title once in 2020 at the Australian Open.

Now she is one victory away from adding a second.

Kenin, the fourth seed, could become the first American since Serena Williams in 2015 to win several major titles in a calendar year when she plays in the final of the French Open on Saturday against unseeded Ijja witik from Poland.

Serena actually won three of the four major titles that year.

Kenin, 21, advanced to the Roland Garros final with a 6-4, 7-5 win over seventh seed Petra Kvitova, two-time Wimbledon champion. Earlier, she beat seeded Nadia Podorowska 6-2 6-1 to become the first Polish in the open era to reach the French final.

Winner receives $ 1,894,332 and Runner-up $ 947,166.

“I’ve already done it in Australia,” Kenin said. “I’ve had tough matches for the past two weeks and I’m so excited to be in the final. It’s unbelievable. I’ll enjoy this moment today and prepare for the final tomorrow.

“We played for the juniors in the French Open. It was close. I will prepare for the final and I will do my best.”

One key question heading to the final: How will Świątek handle the pressure?

A year ago, unseeded Markéta Vondroušová reached the final, but Ash Party beat it 6-1, 6-3.

“In the Grand Slam final, we saw Vondroušová last year really collapse when she reached that final,” said Lindsay Davenport on Tennis Channel.

“I don’t think the same will happen to Shwetek, but Kenin has the advantage of having additional experience in Australia.”

However, not many tennis fans expected to see Kenin in the final in Paris. After all, she was crushed 6-0, 6-0 by Victoria Azarenka in Rome in her last match coming to Paris.

She said in the New York Times: “Believe it or not, I really hated mud.”
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. “But I learned to love it last year here, and I still do.”

Kenin is now 16-1 in major majors this year.

While Kenin has survived several close matches, including a three-set victory over American Daniel Collins in the semi-finals, Świątek has not lost more than five matches in any match so far.

The 19-year-old defeated top seed Simona Halep 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round, which shocked the tennis world.

The last woman to win the Roland Garros Championship without losing a set was Justin Henin 2007.

“I’m kinda surprised! I never thought before the tournament that I would play well,” she said. “ But I always knew that if I were to go into the final of a Grand Slam, it would be the French Open.

“That’s what I planned to convey. I wanted to play this match like it was a first round. I didn’t want to think about being in the semi-finals because that would stress me out. I kept being aggressive like in previous matches. I feel lucky because I feel good and nothing hurts me.”

Wiątek won’t get a full day off before the final, either. She is in the semi-final of doubles on Friday with partner Nicole Meleshard.

Kenin and Shvetiek reached the final in a unique tournament that has been moved from May / June to September / October due to the pandemic.

Four of the world’s top 10 women surpassed the event, including world number 1 Party, and No. 3 Naomi Osaka, who won the US Open.

Winner Serena Williams withdrew 23 times before the second round match due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Whatever happens in the women’s final, she is sure to be the first time champion of the French Open this year.

In the last 14 major tournaments, 11 different women have won, Osaka (3) and Halep (2) have won more than one. Angelique Kerber was the last player to win two big shows in one year in 2016.

Now either Kenin joins that select group of multiple slam winners, or Świątek will have her first major title.