A crestfallen Sofia Kenin said she was suffocated by the pressure of defending her maiden Grand Slam title as the World No. 4 exited the Australian Open in tears on Thursday. 

The American has struggled to handle expectations in Melbourne and was no match for Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi, who won 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes in the second round. 
Kenin, 22, was just the third Australian Open defending champion not to reach the third round since 1970, and the earliest to crash out since Jennifer Capriati fell in the first round in 2003.