FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com fcielitecompetitor.com Shutterstock-lev-radin-photo-credit-Editorial-use-.
September 12, 2023,
We love our traditions.
That is one of the reasons why college football is so popular in the fall.
There, the big Power Five programs like to schedule a much weaker opponent to get their season off to a great start, keep the fan base happy and keep their coaching jobs.
The fans expect you to win, so win.
Another great Fall tradition is watching the top female tennis players get through the first three rounds, at the US Open, before they meet up with their big time show downs in the fourth round.
Thus far, the 2023 US Open is pretty much going according to plan. Going the way that things should be.
There was an early showdown of sorts when Sofia Kenin met number 14 ranked Daria Kasatkina. Though Daria was higher ranked, many expected Sofia to score a victory, since the American star has won a Grand Slam before.
Now for a tale of the tape.
Daria is a Russian professional tennis player.
She is currently the Russian No. 1 player in singles.
She made her top-ten debut in the WTA rankings towards the end of the 2018 season and has been ranked as high as world No. 8 achieved on October 24, 2022.
Daria has won six WTA Tour titles in singles as well as one title in doubles.
Now that is the record of a very top player. Perhaps not as well-known as Sofia, we can see why Daria is ranked number 14 in the world.
Born to athletic parents who were nationally ranked in athletics and ice hockey, Daria began playing tennis at age six at the insistence of her older brother.
She excelled as a junior, winning the European 16s championship and one junior Grand Slam singles title at the 2014 French Open.
Daria quickly ascended up the professional rankings, reaching No. 32 in the world while still only 18 years old and winning her first WTA title in 2017 as a teenager at the Charleston Open.
Time for her great ascent.
She rose to prominence in 2018 by finishing runner-up to fellow up-and-coming player Naomi Osaka at the Premier Mandatory Indian Wells Open in a match regarded as representing a new wave of women’s tennis.
Naomi was about to make her meteoric rise.
Daria also has won the biggest titles of her career at the Kremlin Cup and at the St. Petersburg Trophy at home in Russia.
For great champions, it will not always be easy.
Following three successful seasons on the WTA Tour, Daria struggled in 2019, falling into the bottom half of the top 100. However, she had a resurgent 2021, claiming two titles to return to the top 30, and two titles in 2022, allowing her to return to the top 10.
Daria’s never say die, never give up attitude, had her ready to play Sofia in a big showdown.
Given Sofia’s early track record, she would need to play some of her best tennis.
Sofia is an American professional tennis player, born in Moscow.
She has a career-high ranking by the WTA of No. 4 in the world, which she achieved on March 9, 2020.
She was the 2020 WTA Player of the Year, an award she earned by winning the 2020 Australian Open and finishing runner-up at the 2020 French Open.
What a great run she had there.
Kenin has won another four singles and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including the 2019 China Open at the Premier Mandatory-level with Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Here is what our associates at Femcompetitor Magazine (femcompetitor.com) posted about her in February of 2020, “Ready to take her seriously now? You better.
Sofia Kenin is the 2020 Australian Open champion and there is a feeling among some in the media that up until now, many were not taking her seriously.
At least not seriously enough to win a Grand Slam.
Can you name one media outlet that predicted so?
Did you predict so?
We thought it would happen but since we didn’t voice it in writing, we can’t say that we told you so, since we didn’t.
We thought it though.
Not before the tournament began nor right after it started.
It was when Sofia Kenin slowly dismantled red hot Coco Gauff and completely decimated her in the third set that we sensed she was building a head of steam that couldn’t be stopped.”
That was then.
Currently, Sofia is ranked number 93, as of August 21, 2023.
The following year after winning her 2020 Australian Open Grand Slam, at the 2021 Australian Open, Sofia was the defending champion and fourth seed.
She defeated Australian wildcard player Maddison Inglis in the first round but was upset by the unseeded Kaia Kanepi in the second, in straight sets.
Sofia’s loss was the earliest exit for a defending champion at the Australian Open since Jennifer Capriati lost in the first round in 2003. After the match, Sofia tearfully admitted that the pressure of defending her title was overwhelming.
She is fighting to get back to the top, get her winning form together but it has not been easy.
Her 2023 US Open match against Daria is a testament to that. Sofia got off to a great start, winning the first 5 games of the match but things got much tougher after that.
The informative inside tennis source tennismajors.com reported, “After then leading in the second set courtesy of an early break, the 2020 Australian Open champion looked on course for a thoroughly impressive straight sets win over the world No 14. However, a break back from Kasatkina in the middle stanza changed the complexion of the match entirely.”
A tradition of Sofia’s, in recent times, has been broken. She can’t seem to finish matches like she did earlier in her career, as she did in the 2020 Australian Open, which now seems so long ago.
Sofia is such an exciting player, we would love to see her make a comeback and play great tennis. We’re sure her fans feel the same way, as well. Why?
As we said, in the Fall, especially at the US Open, we love our traditions.
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OPENING PHOTO Shutterstock-lev-radin-photo-credit-Editorial-use fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com fcielitecompetitor.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daria_Kasatkina
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Kenin
https://www.tennismajors.com/us-open-news/us-open-kasatkina-through-to-third-round-710040.html
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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