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Sofia Kenin was called out by the chair umpire for her father Alexander's allegedly excessive coaching during her first-round match at the Miami Open 2024.
Kenin drew a qualifier in the form of fellow American Katie Volynets in her opener at the Miami Open on Wednesday, March 21. She failed to find her rhythm in the match except for a brief period during the second set, as Volynets secured a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Kenin even received an informal warning from the chair umpire during a changeover, over her father and longtime coach Alexander's conduct in the team box.
"Sofia, your father is talking a lot today. He needs to calm down a little bit," the chair umpire told the 2020 Australian Open champion.
Katie Volynets pressed Sofia Kenin in the early stages of the match as she broke her serve twice in the opening set to take a one-set lead. She continued with her aggressive approach and broke Kenin in the very first game of the second set but Kenin counterattacked to level the score.
Volynets outplayed the World No. 58 in the decider, converting three break points.
Katie Volynets levels head-to-head tally against Sofia Kenin at 1-1 with Miami Open win
Katie Volynets leveled her head-to-head tally against Sofia Kenin at 1-1 with the first-round win at the Miami Open 2024 on Wednesday. The two first clashed on the court at the San Diego Open in 2023, where Kenin secured a win after staging a comeback.
Fighting for a spot in the quarterfinals, Volynets dominated Kenin in the opening set but the latter hung tough. Sofia Kenin edged the World No. 121 in the second set with a conversion rate of 78 percent on the first serve against the latter's 52.
In the third set, the two Americans relied more on breaking each other's serves rather than holding theirs. The decider witnessed six breaks of serves in total with four going Kenin's way as she clinched a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.
Kenin was unable to reproduce that effort at the Miami Open on Wednesday as Katie Volynets advanced to the second round, where she will play 12th seed Jasmine Paoline from Italy.
