'Like a hot knife through butter': Maya Joint earns third-straight win over former Australian Open champion
Updated . First published at
Maya Joint has advanced at the Adelaide International, walking away with a straight-sets victory over Sofia Kenin in the round of 32.
The talented teenager had some nervous moments against the former Australian Open winner, but came in clutch in the 7-6(3), 6-4 victory on Tuesday afternoon.
"Zero resistance in the end, like a hot knife through butter," Mark Petchey said on commentary for Nine after match point.
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The first set was back-and-forth action but it was Joint who exploded in the tiebreak, taking it out in dominant fashion as she cements herself as Australia's new golden girl.
"[She has] the weight of expectation and is trying to create her own shadow, outside of the vast shadow that Ash Barty has created," Petchey said late in the first set.
Kenin had three break points early in the second set before Joint fought back to hold, but the American star ended up breaking the Aussie anyway to go up 4-1.
"I wonder if Maya can realise she's been doing most of the running, which wasn't the case in the opening set," Smith said on Nine.
Not to be outdone, Joint rallied back and secured a break of her own with a stellar backhand winner that got the fans on their feet.
"Huge roar from the crowd - Joint's determination drags her back in," Petchey said.
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The frustration clearly started to creep in for Kenin, who was continually looking over at her father in the crowd as he offered words of advice.
Whatever he said made little difference and in the end, Joint surged to victory and finished it off without dropping a point in her last service game.
It marks Joint's third-straight win over the former world No.4 in all competitions.
Maya Joint during Getty
"Sofia played really well today, I'm just really glad I was able to stick in and fight through it and play good tennis in the important moments," Joint told Sam Smith post-match.
"She was playing some great tennis, I had to problem solve a little bit - I was having problems on my return. She was hitting her spots and I needed to neutralise her.
"I didn't think I was very composed … I'm not a calm person."
When asked by Smith what annoys her off the court, Joint gave a hilarious answer.
"People walking slowly in front of me," she laughed.
"I play a lot of cards with my coach and when he wins, that makes me pretty annoyed."
