Sofia Kenin advances after close first-round win over Ana Bogdan

In the tournament’s first match on the Diamond Court, No. 168-ranked Sofia Kenin edged out  No. 120 Ana Bogdan of Romania 7-5, 6-2 on Wednesday morning to advance to the second round of the China Open. Kenin’s win marks the first for American women in this year’s tournament and only her 10^th tournament match win of the year. She will face 12^th ranked Diana Shnaider in the second round.

The 25-year-old Kenin showed little emotion in a tense first set. The pair continually matched each other’s score until Kenin pulled ahead in the final two games. The final game epitomized the tug-of-war within the first set. The two players battled back and forth, leading to a deuce. Kenin took the advantage and then won the set after Bogdan double faulted.

After holding her own during the grueling hour-long first set, Bogdan struggled to keep up in the second as Kenin rode the momentum to a quick 2-0 lead in the second. In a key moment, the 31-year-old Bogdan broke Kenin’s set with a running shot down-the-line to win the third game. Despite Bogdan’s efforts, it was not enough. Bogdan let out the occasional roar on key winners, but more often made mistakes that contributed to her loss. Down 5-2 in the second set, Bogdan clawed her way to a deuce, putting up a fight to avoid a match point for her opponent. But then Bogdan allowed Kenin the advantage, followed by repeating the first set’s ending of handing over the final point on a double fault.

The match saw 10 broken serves. The first set opened with two broken serves, followed by four straight breaks in games seven through 10. Neither Kenin nor Bogdan dominated the serving game; Bogdan’s nine aces to Kenin’s four turned out to play little importance in the final result.

For Bogdan, today’s result means yet another first-round exit in a year full of struggles. She was knocked out in the first round of single’s play in three of the four Grand Slams this year and came into the China Open with a 15-19 overall match record.

For Kenin, today’s match against Bogdan may serve as a much-needed confidence boost. The 2020 WTA Player of the Year has had anything but an easy year in 2024, as she came into the China Open with a 9-21 singles record. Her poor performance, coupled with withdrawals from tournaments like the Thailand Open and a second-round loss at the U.S. Open, has dropped her 78 spots in the WTA rankings. Kenin’s first-round win adds $23,250 to her prize money, giving her a total of $1.07 million on the year.

— Reporting by Egan Ward