Kenin seeks advice from Djokovic ahead of Aussie Open

Sofia Kenin has been gearing up for the 2021 season since she fell to Iga Swiatek in the final of Roland Garros. The American only took a handful of days off when she took a short vacation to Turks and Caicos. Now she's eager to kick off the season in Abu Dhabi, and is only looking to build momentum ahead of the first major of the year.

In 2020, the Australian Open champion found herself in many long rallies, which often tested her physical endurance. Her grueling playing style caught up to her slightly when she wore tape on her left hamstring in Paris.

"Fitness was definitely No. 1 for me," Kenin told press in Abu Dhabi. "Hopefully not going to have any left adductor pain. I had a lot of physical points, but fitness was No. 1 and then just trying to keep my game strong and improve it."

Other than using the extended off-season to her advantage by taking her fitness up a notch, she is also working on her match toughness. The world No. 4 played practice matches with her hitting partner to stay in the groove.

"I think it's good to get some practice matches in," she said. "Hopefully, I'll have a few here. I'm excited to be here. It was kind of a last-minute decision. A few people asked me 'Why are you going?' and I said just to get out of the house and just get some matches in."

This season will undoubtedly be different for the 22-year-old with expectations higher and more pressure to reach the deeper rounds. It's starting right away as she's the top seed at the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi.

But no one puts as much pressure on her than herself. So, it seems Kenin may be prepared for the challenges of defending her title at the Australian Open.

"I definitely feel like there is more pressure from the outside and I'm putting a bit more pressure, trying to make good runs at tournaments, being quite hard on myself at the Slams especially," Kenin said. "Hopefully I can have a good run there. Overall, confidence of course has gone up, I had a good last year tennis wise—just going to try to keep the momentum going."

With the target on her back, Kenin is seeking advice from 17-time major champion and reigning Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. Kenin had a special encounter with Djokovic before her Roland Garros final, and as a player that has experience with defending titles, she looks to him for guidance.

"He did give me great advice against the final," Kenin said. "We were practicing next to each other and he came up to me. He was really nice about it and told me some things before the final, which was special, because obviously I was crazy nervous."

Since then, Kenin has kept in contact with the world No. 1 and looks forward to chatting with him in Melbourne.

"I think I can talk to Novak, since we started talking and we are talking," she said. "I think that will be helpful since we are both defending champions and I think he will give some great advice."

In Abu Dhabi, Kenin will face Yang Zhaoxuan in her opening match on Thursday. They faced on one occasion in Wuhan in 2018, with Kenin winning handily in straight sets.