Sofia Kenin picked up her biggest career win since her Grand Slam breakthrough, surprising World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-2 in their second-round showdown at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia on Thursday.

In the clash between major winners, it was 2020 Australian Open titlist Kenin who prevailed over reigning Australian Open champion Sabalenka in 1 hour and 38 minutes and won a match in Rome for the first time since 2019.

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Beating the best: Not only was this Kenin’s first win over a Top 2 player since she beat World No.1 Ashleigh Barty en route to her 2020 Australian Open title, it was the American’s first win over any Top 10 player since that victory. Kenin had gone 0-3 against Top 10 players since beating Barty over three years ago.

With the win, Kenin picked up her first victory over Sabalenka in their three career meetings. Sabalenka defeated Kenin on hard court two times in 2018, but in their first clay-court matchup, it was former World No.4 Kenin who grabbed the upset.

Kenin threw a wrench into Sabalenka’s stunning season, handing the World No.2 her first loss before the quarterfinals at any event this year. Last week's Madrid champion Sabalenka came into Rome with a tour-leading 29 match-wins so far this year, and she is No.1 in the Race to the WTA Finals.

Words from the winner: "Obviously super happy, I played really well," Kenin said afterward. "Of course she’s had some great results, great year, so of course going into the match there’s not much pressure on my side.

"I tried to use that to my advantage, and of course I felt like an underdog coming in. ... I tried to take it to her, do my best. I had to bring my A-game in order to win."

Key moments: Sabalenka came back from a break down two times in the 67-minute opening set, including at 6-5 when Kenin served for the set. But Kenin took early command in the tiebreak, slamming a backhand crosscourt winner to take a 3-0 lead.

Sabalenka erased Kenin’s first three set points from 6-1 down, but Kenin closed out the breaker at 6-4 after Sabalenka fired a forehand miscue into the net. Both players were 2-for-7 on break points in the set, but Kenin had ten fewer unforced errors than Sabalenka to eke out the advantage.

Kenin moved ahead in the second set with a break for 4-2, and the American cruised from there, placing a deft winner into the corner to convert her first match point two games later. 

Next up: In the third round, Kenin will face No.30 seed Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine, after Kalinina eased past Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-2 earlier on Thursday. Kenin leads her head-to-head with Kalinina by 4-2, including two victories for the American already this year.

"With this win, it just gives me more confidence, and hopefully I can use that to my advantage for my next round," Kenin said.