Kenin ‘fit and ready’ to defend her crown

Defending Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin has moved on from the “disappointments” of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic and says she is fit and ready to defend her crown in Melbourne.

“I don’t think I have unfinished business from 2020, I think last year was meant to be,” she said today.

“It was meant to be that amount of tournaments and I was able to have some great success last year. This year is a new year.”

Kenin has sought advice eight-time Melbourne winner Novak Djokovic ahead of this year’s tournament.

“I’ve talked to Novak Djokovic and asked him to help me out [with the pressure of being the defending champion]. Obviously he’s done it so many times and is a great player … getting some advice from him will be great,” she said.

Kenin said she hasn’t had a day off since arriving in Australia.

“I feel like I’m in form. I had a long preseason, a little bit longer preseason than I usually have. I worked on some things, and I definitely feel like I’m in form,” she said.

“I’m luckily able to practice, I’ve had almost two weeks with no day off, so it’s good.

“I had a tournament in Abu Dhabi so that definitely helped with match play – I feel like it was a good run, quarterfinals. I can’t complain, I feel like I’ve got matches under my belt and I definitely feel like I’m in form.”