Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion from the United States, secured a victory against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, a two-time Wimbledon winner and new mother, in their first-round match at the Miami Open presented by Itaú on Tuesday. This win sets up an anticipated second-round match for Kenin against Coco Gauff, another recent Grand Slam champion.

The match concluded with a score of 6-4, 7-5 in favor of Kenin at the WTA 1000 hard-court event.

It took Kenin 1 hour and 25 minutes to even her score against Kvitova to 2-2 in their head-to-head record. Kvitova previously won in Miami in 2018, but Kenin was successful this time in Florida, her home state.

Gauff awaits: Kenin, formerly ranked No. 4 in the world, is now scheduled to compete against Coco Gauff, currently ranked No. 3 globally, in an all-American second-round match. Kenin and Gauff have an equal record in their four previous encounters on the Hologic WTA Tour.

Their past matches include significant moments in recent tennis history. Notably, Kenin overcame a set deficit to defeat Gauff in the Australian Open Round of 16 five years prior, a tournament where Kenin ultimately claimed the Grand Slam title.

Conversely, Gauff’s loss to Kenin at the 2023 Wimbledon led to strategic changes in her team and approach, which propelled her to a successful 2023 summer hard-court season, highlighted by her US Open Grand Slam victory.

In their most recent game, Gauff avenged her Wimbledon defeat by defeating Kenin 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.

Kvitova’s Return: Kvitova, a former World No. 2 and the Miami Open champion from two years prior after defeating Elena Rybakina, returned to professional tennis less than a month ago after giving birth to her son Petr in July.

The Czech player is still seeking her first win in three matches since returning from maternity leave, having previously lost to Jodie Burrage in the first round of Austin and to Varvara Gracheva in her opening match at Indian Wells.

Match Highlights: Kvitova struggled with double faults early in the match, losing an initial break lead as Kenin effectively used drop shots in the first set comeback. Kenin secured the first set from a 2-0 deficit using a drop shot to convert her set point.

Kenin reached her first match point at 5-4 in the second set, but Kvitova managed to hold serve and equalize at 5-5 with a strong serve. However, Kvitova’s errors persisted, and a forehand error later in the set gave Kenin two more match points.

Kenin won the match on her second match point when Kvitova’s backhand went wide, advancing Kenin to the next round. Despite hitting 13 more winners than Kenin, Kvitova’s 36 unforced errors were double Kenin’s count of 18.