FACTBOX-Tennis-Garbine Muguruza v Sofia Kenin
Jan 31 (Reuters) - A look at the records of Garbine Muguruza and Sofia Kenin ahead of their Australian Open final on Saturday:
GARBINE MUGURUZA
Age: 26
Nation: Spain
Seeding: Unseeded
World ranking: 32
Grand Slam titles: 2 (French Open 2016, Wimbledon 2017)
WTA titles: 7
ROAD TO FINAL (prefix denotes seeding):
First round: beat Shelby Rogers (U.S.) 0-6 6-1 6-0
Second round: beat Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia) 6-3 3-6 6-3
Third round: beat 5-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) 6-1 6-2
Fourth round: beat Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 6-3 6-3
Quarter-final: beat 30-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia) 7-5 6-3
Semi-final: beat 4-Simona Halep (Romania) 7-6(8) 7-5
Arrived at the Australian Open feeling the effects of a virus that forced her out of the Hobart International, but the explosive Spaniard has steadily improved to rediscover the form that took her to the top of the rankings in 2017.
A reunion with coach Conchita Martinez at the start of the season has also helped her shed some of the inconsistency that led to her slipping to number 36 at the end of last year.
SOFIA KENIN
Age: 21
Nation: United States
World ranking: 15
Seeding: 14
Grand Slam titles: 0
WTA titles: 3
ROAD TO FINAL:
First round: beat Martina Trevisan (Italy) 6-2 6-4
Second round: beat Li Ann (U.S.) 6-1 6-3
Third round: beat Zhang Shuai (China) 7-5 7-6(7)
Fourth round: beat Coco Gauff (U.S.) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-0
Quarter-final: beat Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) 6-4 6-4
Semi-final: beat 1-Ash Barty (Australia) 7-6(6) 7-5
The Moscow-born American, coached by her father Alexander, is chasing a maiden Grand Slam crown in her first appearance in a title clash.
After a gritty performance to overcome teen sensation Coco Gauff in the fourth round, Kenin's fierce, counter-punching style was on full display again in her stunning semi-final victory over top seed Ash Barty.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Kenin leads Muguruza 1-0
2019 Kenin d Muguruza 6-0 2-6 6-2 (Beijing, hard) (Compiled by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )
