Sofia Kenin made a big surprise on clay at the Foro Italico, the American beat Aryna Sabalenko, one of the best players this season. At the end of the WTA second round match, Rome Sofia explained how to beat the big favorites.

Sofia Kenin tells how she beat Aryna Sabalenko at WTA Rome

A Grand Slam winner at the 2020 Australian Open, Kenin has had seasons that have fallen well short of expectations since her triumph in Melbourne.

A victory with Sabalenka could be a new starting point on the way to a final return to the forefront of women’s tennis.

Sofia explained how to beat such great players as Arina: with brave tennis and making full use of the outsider status. Effective pressure on the opponent (who is a big favorite) and this can be a real advantage.

“Of course, I’m very happy, I played very well. She’s had great results this year, so naturally we didn’t feel the pressure at the start of the game.

I tried to use this lack of pressure to my advantage as much as possible, as well as take advantage of my underdog status. I gave everything to win and today I did it.

This important win gives me a lot of confidence, and I hope I can use it to my advantage in the next match,” Sofia Kenin was quoted as saying by wtatennis.

Sofia Kenin will meet Angelina Kalinina (Ukraine – 47 WTA) in the third round of WTA Rome.

WTA Rome takes place from May 9 to 20 on the clay in the Foro Italico complex. His total prize money is $3,572,618 and is in the “WTA 1000” category. Iga Svyatek became the champion of the last two competitions. In Romania, the matches of the women’s table can be watched live on Digisport.

• The Italian competition, founded in 1930, has been won three times by a Romanian athlete: Ilie Nestase, 1970 and 1973 editions, and Simona Halep, 2020.

• They have also been in the finals: Ilie Nestase (1974, losing to Bjorn Borg), Virginia Ruzici (1978, 1980, 1981) and Simona Halep (2017, 2018, losing both times to Elina Svitolina).