Roland Garros awaits a new queen
Sofia Kenin defeated Petra Kvitova 6-4, 7-5 to reach the French Open final on Thursday, setting up a final showdown against 19-year-old Iga Swiatek of Poland on Saturday.
Kenin will attempt to capture a second Grand Slam of the year following her Australian Open triumph, but she may face stiff challenge from Swiatek, who became the first Polish woman in 81 years to reach the final after her dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska.
The championship match will be the first at the majors to feature two players aged 21 or under since Maria Sharapova beat fellow 20-year-old Ana Ivanovic at the 2008 Australian Open.
"I knew I had to be at my best. I am super happy and proud of myself," Kenin said following her victory over Kvitova."I have won in Australia and had really tough matches this week so that gives me confidence. I am going to enjoy this moment and then start to prepare for the final tomorrow."
Before this season, Kenin had never gone as far as the quarterfinals on clay. She lost her only match on the surface this year prior to Roland Garros, 6-0, 6-0 to Victoria Azarenka in Rome.
The 54th-ranked Swiatek, on the other hand, has yet to drop a set at the tournament, conceding just 23 games through six matches.
The last woman to capture the French Open title without losing a set was Justine Henin in 2007. Swiatek has matched the run of compatriot Jadwiga Jedrzejowska who finished runner-up at Roland Garros in 1939.
"It seems unreal," said Swiatek. "I never thought at the start I would play so good here but I always knew that if I was going to be in the final of a Grand Slam it would be at the French Open."
No look serves no problem
Sofia Kenin says she is very comfortable with her bizarre, no-look service action which has carried her into a maiden Roland Garros final.
The 21-year-old American has developed the habit of throwing the ball in the air while simultaneously staring down at her feet. Only when the ball is at its high point and her racquet is in motion does she then swivel her head back up.
"I've had that my whole career. I know it's a little bit different. I've had great success with it. I think it would be quite wrong to start changing things now," said Kenin.
"I've improved my serve. I feel like I'm serving well. I guess maybe it doesn't matter how you serve, as long as you get it in. Yeah, that's worked for me," she added.
Studies can wait
Swiatek decided to put off going to university for two years in order to try to make it in tennis -- a decision which was richly rewarded on Thursday when she reached the French Open final.
"Well, right now it's going to be hard to make a decision to go back to studying because I feel like really I can achieve big things," Swiatek told reporters. "I just want to focus on that.
"But really I'm only 19, so a lot can change during few years. We are going to see. Maybe I'm going to be hungry for knowledge or anything. I'm not going to make a decision right now."
Swiatek ousted top seed Simona Halep en route to the final at the claycourt Grand Slam and could become the youngest since Monica Seles in 1992 to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup if she is able to beat Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin on Saturday.
"Right now it would be hard for me to study in this tournament and after," she added. "So I'm just going to focus on doing tennis, tennis-related stuff, as good as I can. I'm just going to deal with it later.
"I think if I'm going to be in a few finals of Grand Slams, it would be impossible to study and playing that kind of tennis consistently."
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