Kenin's continuous competitive fury proves to be too much for Jabeur

Last week, as pro tennis resumed following its longest-ever hiatus, Tennis Channel analyst Martina Navratilova addressed the challenges of returning to match play. “What people forget is how much your head can hurt if you haven’t competed in a while,” she told me. “It just takes so much concentration to play a match.” The brain is not a muscle, but surely, it too can atrophy when not exerted.

Just ask Ons Jabeur, who this evening eventually withered in the face of Sofia Kenin’s massive capacity for competitive engagement, the second-seeded Kenin winning this third round match, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Never mind that Jabeur had struck 35 winners to Kenin's 14. Never mind that the tally included 10 aces for Jabeur, to none for Kenin. Said Kenin,“Obviously I knew it was going to be tough, but I told myself to keep fighting. I knew that she wouldn't maintain this level if I'm going to play the way I want to play. If she would have maintained it, then great match to her.”

Kenin has blossomed into one of tennis’ premier warriors, owner of a remarkable ability to dictate the tempo of any match she plays. She does this with supreme intensity, not just during the points, but even more notably, in between them. Surely, a coach will come along who will urge a Kenin opponent to constantly slow down in between points. At this stage, though, Kenin’s ferocious focus creates an incredibly oppressive climate, a fast-paced dare.  Can you rival her cadence and intensity?

Getty Images

For much of the first set, Jabeur answered in the affirmative. Several years ago at the Australian Open, I stood alongside Judy Murray and watched Jabeur compete in the qualifying. “Check this out,” said Murray, “Ons loves to drop shot, but once she starts hitting all the other shots as well, she’s going to be one very dangerous player.” Sure enough, after finishing 2019 ranked 77, Jabeur reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, beaten at that stage by Kenin. Following a tight 6-4, 6-4 win in Melbourne, Kenin spoke highly of Jabeur. “She's a really tough player,” said Kenin.“I knew she's going to come out playing strong. She's had really good matches, good wins. It wasn't an easy one, it wasn't an easy battle.”

Nor was it tonight. Jabeur trotted out her entire arsenal, from her improved serve to backhands driven, sliced and dropped, to a sharp flat forehand that can instantly break open a point from any part of the court. With Kenin serving at 2-3, ad out, a curled Jabeur slice backhand extracted a forehand error and the break. In the next game, up 30-love, Jabeur feathered a forehand drop shot winner and stood one point away from a 5-2 lead.  Recalling that critical stage, Kenin said, “She obviously was playing really well. I just kept telling myself to keep fighting. I felt like I was there. I was hanging in on each point. I felt like she had great shots, a few lucky points, lucky shots went her way.”

There’s a good chance that over the next decade, everyone from Kenin’s contemporaries to ex-players to instructors to psychologists to journalists will wonder whether her brand of tenacity can be taught. For this is not merely competitive grit. Layered into Kenin’s willpower is a strong appetite for tactical problem-solving and creative solutions. As this match revealed, no player more than Kenin makes the case that for all the metrics that have entered tennis in recent years, perhaps none remains more meaningful than the scoring system. It’s not just how Kenin wins points, but when she wins them that can turn the tide of a match and subsequently demoralize her opponents.

Following that adroit drop shot, as Jabeur served at 4-2, 40-love, Kenin belted a deep forehand return down the middle that elicited an error. On the next point, it was Kenin who carved a slice and then a moonball, leading once again to a Jabeur mistake. At 40-30, a forehand winner. And though Jabeur held two more game points, Kenin simply would not let go, fighting off one break point with a sharply angled crosscourt backhand. On break point, a wilted Jabeur double-faulted.

Getty Images

The missed opportunity clearly haunted Jabeur, subtly infecting her movement and stroke production. Serving at 4-all in the tiebreaker, Jabeur double-faulted. That was all Kenin needed. Two Jabeur errors later, Kenin had won the 64-minute first set.

Faster than you can say Pete Sampras, Kenin broke open the match in the second set. She held in the opening game at love, then broke Jabeur at 15, aided in the last two points by a double-fault and a sprayed forehand. Though Jabeur broke back to serve at 1-2, Kenin once again took charge. At deuce, she closed out an 18-ball rally with a forehand crosscourt angled winner. Next, a clampdown, a Kenin service hold at love to go up 4-1.

Were it boxing, by this stage Kenin would have earned a TKO. Though from here on, Jabeur slapped a few winners, it was clear that Kenin had snapped her head into pieces. Even then, though, Kenin felt herself cramping.“I did feel it at times,” she said. “It was affecting me. But not taking anything from her, she was playing really well. I just tried to fight through it.”

At 5-3, 40-30, Kenin’s first match point, nearly pulled off the court by an adroit Jabeur angle, she dashed forward with trademark urgency and ripped a down-the-line backhand winner.

Momentum means nothing to Kenin. Whether up or down, she never needs to be buoyed.  She merely continues.