Sofia Kenin in tears after brutal end to Australian Open title defence

11-Feb-2021 13:11:32 | Guardian

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An hour after her Australian Open title defence crumbled with a 6-3 6-2 second round defeat to Kaia Kanepi, Sofia Kenin arrived in the press room with reddened eyes. Although she had already been crying, she admirably answered each question as well as she could: she explained that her opponent had played well but she was unable to execute her own shots. She concluded that she simply could not handle the pressure.

It was when she was asked to explain exactly where the pressure came from that Kenin’s composure waned: “I feel like everyone was always asking me, ‘Would you want to? Do you see yourself getting [to Melbourne] and winning again?’ Obviously I said yes. Yeah, I mean, with the way I’m playing, no’” She began to cry.

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Sofia Kenin in tears after brutal end to Australian Open title defence