MELBOURNE, Australia — This, essentially, was where Sofia Kenin was going to win or lose the Australian Open final: She was down love-40 while serving at 2-all in the third set against two-time major champion Garbiñe Muguruza.
Kenin came through in spectacular fashion. She won the next five points, each with a winner — one an ace, the others clean groundstrokes to cap exchanges of 11 shots or more.
The American wouldn’t lose another game on her way to earning a Grand Slam title at age 21.
Demonstrative as can be — whether spiking a ball, dropping her red-white-and-blue racket or slapping her thigh — and at her best when necessary, the 14th-seeded Kenin won the first major final of her career Saturday by coming back to beat a fading Muguruza 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 at Melbourne Park.