On this day in 2020: Sofia Kenin wins Australian Open women’s singles title

On this day in 2020, Sofia Kenin won the Australian Open women’s singles title with a 4-6 6-2 6-2 victory against Garbine Muguruza.

The then-21-year-old American had never previously played beyond the fourth round of a grand slam and became the youngest winner of the title since Maria Sharapova in 2008.

She also followed in the footsteps of Naomi Osaka, Ashleigh Barty and Bianca Andreescu, who all won their first slam finals in brilliant fashion in the previous 18 months.

Kenin’s emotions showed at various points during the deciding set and she dropped her racket and covered her face with her hands in disbelief when Muguruza’s second serve landed long on match point.

“These past two weeks, there have been a lot of emotions,” she said post-match.

“You guys could see after the match how much it all meant to me.

“This is such an honour. I’m so proud of myself, my dad, my team, everyone that has been around me. We’ve all worked hard. We’ve been through tough times. We did it. We fought. I’m just on cloud nine.”

Kenin followed up her Australian Open victory by reaching the final of the French Open later that year in October, but was beaten by Iga Swiatek.