British teenager Mika Stojsavljevic beats Sofia Kenin for first WTA Tour win
British teenager Mika Stojsavljevic defeated former grand slam champion Sofia Kenin to claim her first WTA Tour win – despite only finding out she was playing an hour before.
The 17-year-old had lost in the final round of qualifying at the Hong Kong Tennis Open but was given a last-minute spot as a lucky loser after Canada’s Leylah Fernandez withdrew. And she took full advantage, overcoming a rankings gap of more than 200 places to see off 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin 6-3 4-6 6-4. Speaking in an on-court interview afterwards, Stojsavljevic said: “I think it was a good match. “Obviously I was coming in as a lucky loser, I only knew an hour before that I was going to be playing. I kind of just went out and swung today. “We didn’t have much time to prepare. Obviously I know she’s a grand slam champion so it was never going to be an easy match but I believed in myself and it worked out.” Stojsavljevic, ranked 411 compared to Kenin’s 187, looked in complete control at a set and 3-0 up only to lose her way but she rebounded strongly in the deciding set and threw her arms up in delight after converting her second match point. In the second round, Stojsavljevic will take on Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez. Katie Boulter’s season ended in disappointing fashion, though, with a 7-5 6-4 loss against American Claire Liu. The British number one was a finalist in Hong Kong two years ago and was looking to build on her recent run to the last four in Osaka but she was edged out in a tight encounter.
Published: by Radio NewsHub