This year’s Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin edged past the first round match at US Open 2020 against Yanina Wickmayer. After an emotional exit from last week’s Western and Southern Open, she seemed stressed over the course of the first set.

However, the second seed defeated Wickmayer in the straight sets of 6-2, 6-2.

Sofia Kenin Reveals Her Pre-Match Woes

In the post-match interview, Kenin revealed she was not ‘feeling well’, following her shocking exit in Cincinnati Masters. “The fairytale is still continuing. I know people are looking at me and I wanted to start off well,” she said.

For the first time in history, US Open 2020 is being played without a live crowd due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So there is some additional pressure on the players without the crowd’s motivation. Recently she was asked, “How does Sonya Kenin blow off steam before a match?”

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Asked how she had alleviated her pre-match stress, Kenin replied: “Crying. That’s what I did. I mean, I had to let it out.

“That’s not the answer that people would like to hear,” she added. “But everyone knows in Aussie I was crying every day before my match. It’s fine. It worked.”

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“I was just really nervous. I had to let it out and just regroup and just tell myself, it’s the first match. Just try to get a nice groove, feel the court. I just felt like I was playing really well.”

Apart from the loss last week, it has been a good year for Kenin. 21-year-old Kenin won her first Grand Slam and broke into the Top-10 rankings in WTA.

Also, before the tour was suspended, she won a title in Lyon, France. She will now face Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez in the second round, who defeated Russian Vera Zvonareva in the sets of 6-4, 7-5.