Maya Joint has broken through for her first win of the season to set up an all-Australian second-round showdown against Ajla Tomljanovi\u0107 at the Adelaide International.<\/p>\n
Joint upset 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 7-6 (7\/3), 6-4 at Memorial Drive on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old fired down six aces and broke the American world number 28 three times.<\/p>\n
Joint also saved six of the eight break points she faced in a particularly strong service display.<\/p>\n
It was her third consecutive win over Kenin.<\/p>\n
Joint is the top-ranked Australian on the WTA standings, holding down 32nd place ahead of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n
“I’m just really glad that I was able to stick in, fight through \u2026 and just find a way to play some really good tennis in the important moments,” Joint said.<\/p>\n
Joint trailed 4-1 in the second set but was able to mount an impressive comeback to seal victory in 1 hour and 38 minutes.<\/p>\n
“She [Kenin] was playing some great tennis. I had to problem solve a little bit,” Joint said.<\/p>\n
“I was having some problems on my return, she was really hitting her spots on her serve. So I just needed to find a way to neutralise her serve.”<\/p>\n
Set to be seeded for the first time at a major at next week’s Australian Open, Joint’s win came after two straight-set losses to Barbora Krej\u010d\u00edkov\u00e1 and Iga \u015awi\u0105tek at the season-opening United Cup in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Joint started the year with a nasty bout of the flu, which forced her to sit out Australia’s opening United Cup tie against Norway.<\/p>\n