HOBART: Big-hitting American Sofia Kenin thrived in blustery conditions at the Hobart International to beat Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-3 6-0 and claim her first WTA title on Saturday. Kenin, 20, had breezed through the tournament without dropping a set, but was put under early pressure by Schmiedlova yet still saved eight of the nine break point opportunities she offered up. After battling to hold to 2-2 in the first set, she broke Schmiedlova’s serve in the fifth game and while the Slovakian broke straight back, Kenin began dictating play from the baseline and won the next nine games to wrap up the match in 71 minutes on her second championship point. “It feels amazing,” Kenin said. “I’m so happy with my start (to 2019),” she added in reference to also winning the doubles title with Eugenie Bouchard in Auckland last week. “I’m just going to try to keep the momentum going and hopefully I can break into the top 20 by the end of this year.” Schmiedlova struggled with her serve in the windy conditions, winning just 43 percent of her first serves and 31 percent of her second, and was left ruing letting Kenin off the hook. Published in Daily Times, January 13th 2019.