MELBOURNE, Australia -- So long in the shadows of other American tennis players, Sofia Kenin is into her first Grand Slam final at age 21 -- and she beat the woman ranked No. 1 to get there.
Kenin did it by never flinching, even when she twice was a single point from losing each set of her Australian Open semifinal against Ashleigh Barty before pulling out the 7-6 (6), 7-5 victory in a stiflingly hot semifinal today.
"This really wasn't an easy one," said the 14th-seeded Kenin, who never had been past the fourth round at a major tournament until now.
Kenin, who was born in Russia and moved to Florida as a baby, burst onto the scene in 2019 by winning three singles titles and upsetting Serena Williams in the third round of the French Open.
She didn't face a seeded player in this tournament until today but did eliminate 15-year-old sensation Coco Gauff in the fourth round.
This was not Barty's first foray onto this stage: She won the French Open last June, beating Kenin along the way. But Barty was hardly at her best, especially at the most crucial moments, perhaps overwhelmed by the task of trying to become the first Australian woman to reach the final of the country's Grand Slam tournament since 1980.
Instead, Kenin is the first American other than a Williams sister to reach the Australian Open final since Lindsay Davenport in 1995. And Kenin is the first American woman to beat the No. 1 player at a major since Serena topped Venus at Wimbledon in 2002.
In the men's semifinals, defending champion Novak Djokovic was scheduled to play Roger Federer for the 50th time tonight, with No. 5 Dominic Thiem meeting No. 7 Alexander Zverev in a matchup between 20-somethings on Friday night.
Barty and Kenin stepped out in Rod Laver Arena in the early afternoon under a cloudless sky and a vibrant sun. The temperature topped 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) in the first set, 20 to 25 (10 to 15) degrees hotter than it's been for much of a chillier-than-usual 1½ weeks so far at Melbourne Park.
"It was tough. I haven't played in this heat for two weeks (but) I expected it today," Kenin said. "I'm from Miami. I'm used to this weather. The heat didn't bother me."
Rafael Nadal's bid to tie Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam titles by winning the Australian Open was over with a quarterfinal loss Wednesday to Thiem -- a younger version of Nadal himself.
Thiem's 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6) victory over the top-seeded Nadal lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes because of so many lengthy, electrifying points. One rather memorable one featured Thiem stumbling onto his backside before popping up and keeping the ball in play until Nadal made a mistake.
"He's playing with a lot of energy ... (and) determination. So well done for him," Nadal said. "I honestly didn't play a bad match."
Thiem reached his fifth major semifinal but first somewhere other than at the French Open, the place that is Nadal's domain.
Of more significance: The outcome ended Nadal's career-best streak of making at least the semifinals at seven consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, a span during which he earned three trophies.
"If you want to have a chance against him, one of the all-time greats, everything needs to work in your game," the fifth-seeded Thiem said.
The last time Nadal didn't get to the final four at a major? Also at the Australian Open, where he also went out in the quarterfinals two years ago before finishing as the runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2019.
That was Nadal's fourth defeat in a final at Melbourne Park since he won his lone title at the place in 2009. He's won two at Wimbledon, four at the U.S. Open and 12 at the French Open.
Sports on 01/30/2020