Sofia Kenin ousts Serena Williams in French Open third round

American Sofia Kenin came out with an aggressive game plan on Saturday, and executed it to perfection to defeat countrywoman Serena Williams, 6-2, 7-5, in the third round of the French Open.

“It’s a lot of emotions. Serena’s such a great player and a true champion,” Kenin told Fabrice Santoro on-court afterwards. “Playing against Serena, you really have to fight for every point. I’m just so happy with this win.”

Kenin is through to the second week of a major for the first time in her career. The world No. 35 will face eighth seed Ashleigh Barty in the round of 16. Barty eliminated Andrea Petkovic earlier on Saturday, 6-3, 6-1.

The loss marked Williams' earliest exit in a major since 2014, when she fell in the third round at Wimbledon. The 37-year-old was contesting just her second clay-court tournament of the season.

"I think she played really well," said Williams. "In that first set in particular, she hit pretty much inches from the line. I haven't played anyone like that in a long time."

Meeting for the first time, Kenin did not back off in going for her shots against Williams. The 20-year-old used her compact backhand to catch Williams off balance—and effectively hit her spots on serve—winning 15 of 18 first serve points to race out to a 6-2 lead.

The 10th-seeded Williams struggled to finish her strokes, as forehand approaches and backhand returns frequently flew long. She mounted a comeback in the second set, relying on her first serve to keep it close, and eventually erased an early break deficit by extending exchanges with her fiery opponent.

Williams got to 5-4, but Kenin's fierce demeanor never wavered—maintaining her focus after being on the receiving end of several jeers from the crowd. She nailed a forehand return winner off of a first serve to break, and then staved off a break point in the final game to clinch the victory in one hour and 32 minutes. Kenin finished with 23 winners to 17 unforced errors, while Williams ended with a 30 to 34 ratio.

"Closing out the match, a lot of things processed in my head. I just had to somehow try to put them aside," Kenin said in her post-match press conference. "If I would have lost, it would have been pretty heartbreaking. I did everything I can to win, and I'm just really proud of myself.

"When you play Serena, you've got to dictate because she's gonna take control of the points. She's the best of the best. I knew I'm playing with a top player and I have to play my game."

On where she goes from here, Williams said, "I'm definitely feeling short on matches and just getting in the swing of things. I don't really like playing out points when I practice. I have some time on my hands, so maybe I'll jump in and get a wild card [at] one of these grass-court events and see what happens."