Paris
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin squares off against Iga Swiatek, the teenager from Poland, appearing in her maiden Grand Slam final.
Kenin, the No.4 seed, looks to add a second major trophy in 2020 following her breakthrough triumph at Melbourne Park, while Swiatek bids to cap a barnstorming run, having passed the fourth round at a major for the first time.
This will be the pair’s first tour meeting, however Swiatek did beat Kenin as a 15-year-old in the third round of the 2016 junior tournament, 6-4, 7-5.
The 21-year-old Kenin is a relative veteran of finals compared to the Pole, two years her junior. The Moscow-born American is 5-1 in title matches, including that win over Garbine Muguruza in this year’s Australian Open final, while Swiatek is 0-1 from her lone prior final.
The American has the edge in experience, especially in closing out such a huge match on the big stage. While she was broken serving for the match against Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals, it only spurred her on to break again the following game and serve it out without a glitch.
Swiatek has not been tested yet and will carry the underdog status she did against top seed Simona Halep in the fourth round.
Kenin is a different kettle of fish though to Halep , substantially more firepower and flatter off both wings, so she will be intent on taking time away from the 19-year-old.
But she also possesses one of the most highly-strung temperaments on court. Expect the limited-capacity crowd to have the young Pole’s back and that could become a pivotal factor, should Kenin’s occasional petulance under the pump rare its head.
Both women love to be the aggressor and have been impressive on serve all tournament, Swiatek having held in 78 per cent of service games and Kenin 73 per cent.
The unseeded Pole, though, will back herself to make inroads on her opponent’s serve. In her six matches she has won an astonishing 84 per cent of return games (32 of 38), while Kenin has won 49 per cent.
