Guadalajara Preview: Sofia Kenin vs. Caroline Dolehide; Maria Sakkari vs. Caroline Garcia

By Saturday, one of the four remaining competitors in Guadalajara will step into the winner’s circle for the first time this year.

In Friday’s first semifinal, two Americans will battle it out. After showing encouraging signs of a resurgence in San Diego last week with her first tour-level final appearance in nearly three years, Sofia Kenin has continued her winning ways. The 2020 Australian Open champion fought past Leylah Fernandez, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-1, shaking off 14 double faults to get through Thursday in two hours and 47 minutes.

Kenin began the year ranked No. 280 and was ranked as low as No. 101 on August 21. The former world No. 4 owns five tour-level trophies, but is aiming to triumph for the first time since March 2020 when she won Lyon the final weekend before the tour shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A title would see Kenin vault back inside the Top 25, with a near Top 30 return already secured.

Standing between Kenin and the final is countrywoman Caroline Dolehide. The 25-year-old valiantly fought off four match points to sink Martina Trevisan, 3-6, 7-6 (9), 6-3, in achieving her best tour-level result to date.

Dolehide began this tournament ranked No. 111, but is set to smash her career-high ranking of No. 99. A win over Kenin would enable the Hinsdale, Ill. native to crack the Top 50. Dolehide and Kenin have never met at the tour level previously. The winner will look to make it three successive 1000 trophies for Americans following title runs by Jessica Pegula in Montréal and Coco Gauff in Cincinnati.

The evening clash showcases a projected semifinal between No. 2 seed Maria Sakkari and No. 3 seed Caroline Garcia, although neither arrived with much form to necessarily expect this matchup.

Sakkari ended the run of 188th-ranked Emiliana Arango with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. While she’s yet to drop a set this week, Sakkari also hasn’t faced an opponent inside the Top 50. The Greek is 1-6 in semifinal matches this year, winning her most recent in Washington, D.C. over Pegula.

Perhaps playing with house money after erasing match points in her opening round, Garcia impressed in her latest effort when she defeated 2022 semifinalist Victoria Azarenka, 6-3, 6-4. The Frenchwoman is looking to lift a trophy for the first time since becoming the WTA Finals champion last November in Fort Worth, Texas.

Garcia is the most accomplished player of the four on the 1000 stage, owning three titles—all on hard courts. Sakkari ended a three-match losing streak to Garcia earlier this season in the quarterfinals of Doha.