Damien Kayat previews Sofia Kenin vs Leylah Fernandez and Caroline Garcia vs Victoria Azarenka in Selected Quarterfinal matches of the Guadalajara Open Akron on September
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Guadalajara Open AKRON
Panamerican Tennis Centre, Zapopan, Mexico (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Quarterfinals – 21st September
Sofia Kenin 3/4 | Leylah Fernandez 10/11
I’m almost getting a bit sick and tired of talking about Sofia Kenin of late. The American has become a near-omnipotent presence in my articles and her recent surge up in the rankings shows no signs of abating.
I was pretty confident of her edging past Ostapenko (though I thought it would go into a 3rd set). I didn’t expect it to be such a high-quality encounter. Kenin played impeccable defensive tennis, hitting 19 winners and committing just three unforced errors in the face of an Ostapenko onslaught.
Kenin’s victory over Ostapenko takes her record in her last two events to an astonishing 7-1. The victory also meant that she reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2019. Backing up her San Diego final with a WTA 1000 quarterfinal is a sure sign that the 2020 Aussie Open champion is back in business.
Next up for Kenin is another player with a bit of Grand Slam pedigree: Leylah Fernandez. Emma Radacanu catches a lot of flak for her horrendous form following her triumph at the 2021 US Open (and rightly so). But the Canadian runner-up hasn’t fared that much better.
Sure, she reached the quarters at last year’s French Open and won her 2nd Monterrey title. But she has still underwhelmed hugely following that seismic fortnight in New York. But there have been glimmers of hope of late for the defensive baseliner.
She reached the final 16 in Canada and reached another quarterfinal in Cleveland. She then lost a nail-biting first-round clash with Alexandrova at the US Open. She then went down valiantly against Haddad Maiai at last week’s San Diego Open. But she has certainly found something on serve in Guadalajara.
She won 93% of her first-serve points in her opener before winning 78% of her first-serve points against Elise Mertens (an elite returner). These are staggering numbers for a player whose serve has largely been seen as a weakness. She just brushed aside in-form Emma Navarro and she could be primed to stop the Kenin-express.
Verdict: Kenin to win in three sets
Kenin won their only previous match with ease at the 2020 US Open. Kenin is playing too well to deny here. However, Kenin may be feeling the effects of all her recent tennis and Fernandez has been serving excellently. Kenin to win in three seems like a reasonable option.
Caroline Garcia 31/20 | Victoria Azarenka 4/9
Caroline Garcia was in the form of her life at this stage last season. Fresh off a semi-final run at the US Open, the French hardcourt specialist would go on to claim the season-ending WTA Finals.
But all that momentum has pretty much ground to a halt this year (despite runner-up finishes in small events in Lyon and Monterrey). She hadn’t gone beyond the round of 16 in a WTA 1000 tournament until this week. She followed an embarrassing first-round exit at Flushing Meadows with another early exit in San Diego.
It’s as if players have figured her out a bit. Garcia’s ultra-aggressive approach has become a bit one-dimensional and players are frustrating her into huge amounts of errors. And she really had to grind a win in her opening match with Sasnovich.
Her serving stats improved against Baptiste and she will be desperate to reach yet another WTA 1000 semi-final.
You could take one look at Azarenka’s 6-2, 6-1 win over Veronika Kudermetova and be forgiven for thinking it was a walk in the park. But it was anything but that.
The two exchanged breaks at the beginning of the 2nd set in a 32-minute two-game period. Azarenka’s break-back essentially shattered the Russian’s spirit and Azarenka romped home to victory. I have to say- Azarenka’s game looks sharp. She served well and had that backhand on a string.
I loved the way she threw in the odd drop-shot to keep the Russian on her heels. Azarenka has had a shocking season since that glorious semi-final run at the Aussie Open but she always has the capability to go deep in elite events. She reached the semi-finals here last year and she seems to just love the pace of these courts.
Verdict: Azarenka to win in straight-sets
Garcia leads the head-to-head 3-1. Having said that, they last played way back in 2020. Azarenka is just looking elite on these surfaces and I think she has the variety to overcome Garcia. The Belarusian is moving brilliantly this week and I can see her overcoming the Frenchwoman in straight-sets.
