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Associated Press

American Sofia Kenin continued her impressive form in 2020 by advancing to her second grand slam final this year with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Czech Petra Kvitova on Thursday at the French Open.
Kenin, who won the Australian Open at the start of February, will play Polish 19-year-old Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s Roland Garros final after the teenager won 6-2, 6-1 against Argentina qualifier Nadia Podoroska.
“I’m just really grateful with the way that I’m playing, with the way things are going,” Kenin said. “It’s not easy getting to a grand slam final. Having two this year, it’s really special.”
Swiatek has never won a tour-level title and is currently ranked 54th in the world, meaning she is the lowest-ranked player to contest a final at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic rallies past Pablo Carreno Busta to set up semi-final showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas
She is also the first Polish player in a grand slam final since Agnieszka Radwanska against Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2012.
“It’s kind of surprising for me,” Swiatek said. “I never would have thought that I’m going to be in the final. It’s crazy. Like a dream come true.”


Swiatek has not dropped a set throughout her run, which included a revenge win over top seed Simona Halep in the fourth round, after Swiatek’s tournament last year ended in a one-sided loss to the Romanian world number two.
“I feel like I’ve been so efficient and so focused for whole matches that I put a lot of pressure on my opponents,” Swiatek said.
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“I’m not even nervous in second sets because I know it’s going to probably go my way.”
She took just 70 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier to clinch a victory over Podoroska, world No 131, who was the first female qualifier to contest a Roland Garros semi-final.
After a remarkable nine-match run, Podoroska’s time in Paris came to an end as the 23-year-old was comprehensively outplayed.
Swiatek’s returns overwhelmed Podoroska from the start of the match as she raced to a 3-0 lead and opened a 5-2 gap with a ferocious forehand en route to taking the first set.
Podoroska folded further in the second set and Swiatek raced through four straight games and wrapped up the contest with a triumphant serve.

The new kids on the block up against the giants of the game.

Who will it be that reaches the final on Sunday?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/yjW9y2zp7H
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 9, 2020

For Kvitova, two-time Wimbledon champion, she was playing her first French semi-final in eight years since a loss to Maria Sharapova in 2012.
She said it had been an emotional return to Paris because it was the same tournament she made her comeback to the sport after a terrible knife attack at her home in 2017.
“Being in a semi-final here, it was great achievement for me definitely,” Kvitova said. “I’m very happy and grateful for that, for sure. I could be at home watching and not even play tennis any more. Even though loss is painful, which is normal and should be like this, I’m very happy with how everything went.”
Kvitova’s serve collapsed through a series of errors as Kenin punched to kill the points quickly and sprint to a double-break advantage at 4-1 after just 15 minutes.
Kenin held on in the rallies to secure the first set by a single break and the energetic 21-year-old took control in the second set.
She stumbled to catch a looped forehand return for the next break to edge ahead 3-2, and Kvitova’s head dropped as the emotional journey in Paris was nearing its end.
The world No 11, Kvitova unleashed a blistering backhand to survive at 5-4 and put all the pressure on Kenin to serve for the match.




















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Stepping up. #RolandGarros #igaswiatek #tennis #Paris #sport Corinne Dubreuil / FFT
A post shared by Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) on Oct 8, 2020 at 7:33am PDT



Three rushed errors meant Kenin offered Kvitova three lifelines to continue the match and Kenin overhit a return to see the contest continue.
“I just kept telling myself to keep fighting,” Kenin reflected on that moment.
“I obviously expected her to play better. I went down on myself, but I just told myself to keep playing. I tried to close it out the best I could.”
But Kenin broke again immediately for 6-5 and the chance to serve out the match a second time.
Kenin roared “come on” after she turned a break point into a match point and another failed return from Kvitova sent her through to the final.


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French Open

French Open: Sofia Kenin ousts Petra Kvitova in straight sets to set up Iga Swiatek final

Sofia Kenin has made her second grand slam final of the season in Paris. Photo: EPA

French Open: Novak Djokovic rallies past Pablo Carreno Busta to set up semi-final showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas

Novak Djokovic progressed to his 40th grand slam semi-final with victory over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta. Photo: AP

French Open: China’s Zhang Shuai soars into career best round of 16 at Roland Garros

China's Zhang Shuai reacts during the women's singles third round match against France's Clara Burel in the 2020 French Open. Photo: Xinhua

(201003) -- PARIS, Oct. 3, 2020 (Xinhua) -- France's Clara Burel takes a rest during the women's singles third round match against China's Zhang Shuai in the French Open tennis tournament 2020 at Roland Garros in Paris, France, Oct. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

(201003) -- PARIS, Oct. 3, 2020 (Xinhua) -- China's Zhang Shuai hits a return during the women's singles third round match against France's Clara Burel in the French Open tennis tournament 2020 at Roland Garros in Paris, France, Oct. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Sport

Tennis


Australian Open champion Kenin will play Polish teenager Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s Roland Garros final



Australian Open champion Kenin will play Polish teenager Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s Roland Garros final.


French Open: Sofia Kenin ousts Petra Kvitova in straight sets to set up Iga Swiatek final

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Australian Open champion Kenin will play Polish teenager Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s Roland Garros final

Australian Open champion Kenin will play Polish teenager Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s Roland Garros final