Sofia Kenin smashed last year’s runner-up Irina-Camelia Begu at the WTA 250 Tennis in the Land

Last year’s finalist, Irina-Camelia Begu, was eliminated in the second round of the WTA 250 Tennis in the Land in Cleveland (USA). The fifth-seeded Romanian lost to the “wild card” host representative Sofia Kenin with 0-2 (3:6, 2:6).

The 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was on an eight-game losing streak before the start of the tournament and slipped to 415th in the world rankings.

She squandered an early break lead but, at 2:2, took six of the next seven games on her way to victory against the world No 34 to book a place in the quarter-finals.

“I feel that little by little everything is falling into place, giving me more confidence. I am very happy and proud of my performance in this match. I served quite well and performed as I wanted. Irina is a very strong tennis player so I had to show my best”, said the 23-year-old American.

Seventh-seeded Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus) and eighth-seeded Alize Cornet (France) also reached the quarterfinals.

Aliaksandra Sasnovich smashed the Spanish tennis player Sara Sorribes Tormo in the second round with 2-1 (4:6, 6:3, 6:3), while Alize Cornet defeated Denmark’s Clara Tauson with 2-0 (6:3, 7:6).