When two players have both been No.4 in the world, and their head-to-head stands at 1-1, and neither has lost in the first round at Wimbledon in three previous career visits, then something has to give.
Coco Gauff was tipped to go deep this Fortnight. An opening match against a qualifier ranked No.128 sounded like a surefire recipe for smooth progress to the second round – so long as you didn’t know the qualifier in question was Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion battling her way back from long struggles with injuries and COVID-19. Taking on the No.7 seed was right up her competitive street.
In this all-American clash, Kenin wrote her aggression all over No.1 Court as she set about dismantling the crowd favourite. Gauff pushed it into the decider and between the two of them they carved out a riveting contest before at last Kenin took it 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in 123 minutes.
"I knew I had to play my best to win," said the 24-year-old. "I just took it point by point, not getting anxious or excited. I really battled out there. I'm so happy I was able to finish it before it got dark - I didn't want to come back tomorrow."
Until now, Wimbledon Day One on No.1 Court has been a place of fond memories for Gauff. Four years ago, as a 15-year-old qualifier, it was there that she announced herself with a shock defeat of her idol Venus Williams. Fast forward to 2023, a blustery wind chilled the court and turned Gauff’s ambitions to stone.
"She had nothing to lose,” said the No.7 seed. “I knew, coming in, she would play with a lot of motivation. It was all about how I would play today and how I would take care of my end of the court.
“Defeat makes me want to work even harder. Right now I feel very frustrated and disappointed. I feel like I have been working hard, but clearly it’s not enough.”
With moisture in the cool evening air, Kenin’s groundstrokes painted the lines as she punched an early break for 1-2. At once their respective body language made clear reading.
Kenin’s determined stride around the court announced her intention to make Gauff the 10th top-10 scalp of her career, following on from her shock defeat of this year’s Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka on the Rome clay. No doubt it was useful to her to know that she beat Gauff en route to her own Australian triumph in 2020.
By contrast Gauff’s face instantly reflected the word she used in advance to describe this match – “worrisome”. She never looked like getting back on terms in that first set, and when she opened the second with a double fault, it did not bode well.
Instead, she began taking the fight to Kenin. Twice in one rally Gauff’s feet slid away from her, the second time resulting in a full-on tumble – but still she got up to win the point. It was high quality stuff, and when Gauff forced the decider, she wasn’t looking worried any more.
But a net cord helped deliver an instant break for Kenin. All the grass court smarts which took her to the Mallorca title four years ago fuelled her as she toughed out Gauff’s powers of retrieval.
In a huge hold for 3-1, Kenin repelled three break-back chances, and her shouted encouragement to herself grew louder and more frequent as her groundstrokes searched ever deeper. With the double break against her, Gauff held her head in her hands, and Kenin served it out.
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