NEW YORK (Reuters) – Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin used a mix of power and sharp angles to overwhelm Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 on Thursday and reach the third round of the U.S. Open.
Second seed Kenin won 76% of her first-serve points and unleashed a barrage of accurate shots from the baseline that were too much to handle for Fernandez.
American Kenin, who never faced a break point during the 81-minute contest, broke Fernandez three times, including in the final game when her opponent double-faulted on match point.
Fernandez made her main draw debut at the U.S. Open this week and entered the match fresh off a win over 2010 New York finalist Vera Zvonareva.
Up next for Kenin, who has never been past the third round in New York, will be Tunisian 27th seed Ons Jabeur, who beat Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi 7-6(8) 6-0 earlier on Thursday.
Kenin is the highest seed left in the women’s draw after Karolina Pliskova’s shock second-round loss on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Ed Osmond)
