BNP Paribas Open: Sofia Kenin beats Sloane Stephens in match of American Grand Slam champs

Sofia Kenin went down a break early to Sloane Stephens on Stadium Court on Thursday evening, but won five of the next seven games to win the first set and, ultimately, the match, 6-4, 6-1.

The match, which was billed as a showdown between the two most recent American women to win a Grand Slam, was not as thrilling as some had anticipated.

Kenin, who goes by the nickname Sonya, controlled the first set, then ran away with the second. She won the first game with her serve, then went up a break to take a 2-0 lead that seemed to carry with it the backing of the crowd as she closed out the match without much trouble.

Kenin said she thought that Stephens played well and that the match was closer than the score might indicate, but added that she was motivated from start to finish to avenge her loss to Stephens last year in Toronto.

“I had a great game plan and I knew what I wanted to do,” Kenin said. “And I guess revenge was also No. 1 on my mind. It’s nice to get it.”

Kenin, 24, did not enter Indian Wells with a ton of momentum. Prior to Thursday’s match, Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open, had lost five of her past six matches and had a first round exit in three of her previous four tournaments.

She had fallen to No. 149 in the world and is only playing at Indian Wells because of a wild card invite.

Stephens, who won the 2017 U.S. Open, entered the week ranked 48th in the world. She was the clear favorite Thursday.

But as Kenin has done, she showed up ready to play and beat a player ranked much higher. When she was still a teenager trying to break into the pro game, she upset then-No. 11 Dara Kasatkina as a qualifier at the Miami Open. Later that year, at the Mallorca Open, she beat then-No. 6 Caroline Garcia.

Kenin was named the WTA Player of the Year in 2020, after she reached as high as No. 4 in the world and won the Australian Open. At 21, she was the youngest American to win a Grand Slam since Serena Williams in 1999, and the youngest American woman to reach the top 10 since Williams.

But she missed the second half of 2021 with injuries and, in 2022, an ankle injury that required a cast forced her out of Indian Wells, Miami, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Her ranking plummeted out of the top 300.

Working her way back to form, Kenin has yet to have a signature performance since her injury. It could come here at the BNP Paribas Open, where she had not played since 2019.

“I’m going to do my best,” Kenin said. “I feel like if I’m going to play like this or better, I have a good chance.”

Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Sofia Kenin beats Sloane Stephens at Indian Wells