Fed Cup: Aus Open champ Kenin and Serena put USA in control
Sofia Kenin blitzed Anastasija Sevastova to give the USA the perfect start, while Serena Williams battled past Jelena Ostapenko.
Published : Feb 08, 2020 15:33 IST
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and Serena Williams gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Latvia in its Fed Cup qualifier on Friday.
Kenin blitzed Anastasija Sevastova 6-2 6-2 to get the USA up and running in Everett, while Williams battled past 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3).
Barely a week after breaking through for her first grand slam title in Melbourne, Kenin was in the American state of Washington to represent her country.
The world number seven and 21-year-old surged past Sevastova before 23-time major winner Williams eventually saw off Ostapenko in the second rubber to improve her win-loss record at the Fed Cup to 14-0.
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"It's been a long journey. It wasn't easy," Kenin said. "But I was super happy to come here and play with the team."
Switzerland, led by Belinda Bencic, Germany and Slovakia also boast 2-0 leads against Canada, Brazil and Great Britain respectively.
The other ties – Netherlands against Belarus, Romania versus Russia and Belgium against Kazakhstan – are deadlocked at 1-1.