“He’s told me a lot of positive things. “We didn’t have the best things said about me but my dad’s been there and he believed in me, didn’t listen to that. Let’s find out more about Sofia Kenin’s family. Sofia began playing tennis at the age of five, she drew inspiration from her father who hit tennis balls in his leisure time. Sofia began playing tennis at the age of five, she drew inspiration from her father who hit tennis balls in his leisure time. I know that he didn’t want to do this. So much for social distancing amid a pandemic. She needed to wait a day to find out who she’ll play next, because the match between No. We were in the strangest places all around the United States and I was driving at night to find some community where we could find a court to practice in the morning,” he added. Sofia said her “crazy smart” father had no prior experience of the game, but simply picked it up by observing those around him. Never before a quarterfinalist at any tour-level clay-court tournament, Kenin reached that stage at Roland Garros by making a key adjustment, taking balls sooner and leaving Fiona Ferro less time to operate in the 21-year-old American’s 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the last player from France in either singles bracket. Her father is her long-time tennis coach. I would imagine that he would be sitting on the other side. We have to do it, but sometimes it’s not easy. During Saturday’s final, Alex could barely watch as Sofia closed on the win, and he filmed her winner’s speech — which was beamed live worldwide — on his mobile phone. Sofia represented America at the 2014 Youth Olympics, made her Grand Slam debut as a wildcard at the 2015 US Open and broke into the top 100 in March 2018. She has a career-high Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of No. If Sofia’s achievement is remarkable, it owes a great deal to her father, who was ever-present courtside during her increasingly impressive run through the Melbourne women’s draw. - AP. I had no idea what they were saying,” he said. “He’s seen how all the other coaches have been coaching their players, but he knows everything,” Sofia said, after stunning Garbine Muguruza in her first Grand Slam final. He could have easily said, okay, and I could have done something [else].”. “People overlooked me. We’ve been dreaming about this — it’s a dream come true for us,” Sofia said. One of them is that she is a Russian from the origin. Kenin is the reigning champion at the Australian Open (becoming the youngest American to win a Grand Slam women's singles title since Serena Williams in … Alexander Kenin, father of Sofia Kenin of the U.S., right, and Emmanuel Planque, coach of France's Fiona Ferro, left, watch the fourth round match of the French Open tennis tournament between Kenin and Ferro at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. I was so happy. Also Read | Sofia inspired by Sharapova and Serena, But unlike some other fathers, whose influence has been resented or even negative, Alex and Sofia, 21, remain close and affectionate. Her birth name is Sofia Anna Kenin. To continue enjoying Sportstar, you can turn off your adblocker or subscribe to Sportstar Plus. There’s nothing much to discuss about that.”, “At the end of the match,” Ferro said with a laugh, “he told me, ‘You didn’t manage to get rid of Sofia, but I couldn’t get rid of her dad.’”. Her father shared about their uphill battle for their tennis training in … Just thank you to him. It wasn’t so long ago that Sofia Kenin’s father was driving New York taxis and spoke English so poorly that he didn’t know where he was supposed to be going. “I had to work at night, go to school in the morning. Yeah, he really works hard. People said, ‘What are you talking about? 17 Pablo Carreño Busta, and No. Sofia Anna Kenin (born November 14, 1998), nicknamed Sonya, is an American professional tennis player. Tsitsipas and Rublev both dropped the first two sets they played in Paris last week — and now both are making a French Open quarterfinal debut. “On the right, it’s (for) the higher seed. Djokovic’s match continued apace, putting him in the French Open quarterfinals for the 11th consecutive year, extending a record he — no, not 12-time champion Rafael Nadal — already held. Her birth place is in Moscow in Russia. PARIS (AP) Sofia Kenin entered 2020 with an 11-11 record in Grand Slam action. The other quarterfinal in that half of the draw will be two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova against Laura Siegemund. Sofia clearly had talent from a young age, but they remained outsiders and making it on the tennis circuit was never easy. - AP. Her career really took off last year, when she won three singles titles and rose to a world ranking of 12. Carreño Busta got to his fourth, and second at Roland Garros, by beating 186th-ranked qualifier Daniel Altmaier 6-2, 7-5, 6-2. 18 Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6 (9), 6-2 on Monday; Rublev defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (3). 4, while the 49th-ranked Ferro was unseeded. Her nationality is American. “Now it’s obviously a surface that I really enjoy playing on.”. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. “I know he’s a tough cookie.”. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas against No. Furthermore, she has not hinted about any special man in her life. However, there are many lesser-known facts about Kenin. Driving in New York, speaking English on the [taxi] radio. That one happened after Djokovic dropped a game in the first set; he hit a ball in anger while walking to the sideline. A year ago in Paris, Kenin signaled to the world what she was capable of, upsetting Serena Williams in the third round. “He knows what he’s talking about, he really knows it and he comes up with the right plans, the right strategies.”. Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! “It has happened to me, and to many other players, in the last 15 years that I’ve been on the tour.”. 1 Ashleigh Barty and, in the final, two-time Major-winner Muguruza all fell victim to tough-as-boots Sofia, who was following strategies drawn up by her wily father. Among men, only Federer, with 20, and Nadal, with 19, have won more. We can share this forever.”, Alex Kenin arrived in New York from what was then the Soviet Union in 1987 with his wife, Lena, and a few hundred dollars in his pocket, searching for the “American Dream.”, He drove a taxi by night and went to English and computer school during the day, a period he describes as “very, very tough.”. This is a tough situation for him. I wasn’t the tallest kid when I was little. “He’s a great person and sometimes we cannot control our emotions. But it’s amazing, the things you do when you need to survive. He knows exactly what he’s talking about. PARIS (AP) — After Sofia Kenin dropped the opening set in the French Open’s fourth round Monday, her father, Alexander, who is also her coach, switched seats in the stands, plopping himself down right next to her opponent’s coach. “I think it gives her some toughness. Also Read: Sofia Kenin: All You Need to Know. 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