This is not how Angelique Kerber imagined her 34th birthday at all. Instead of enjoying the beloved tradition of being serenaded by the Australian fans, the former world number one, bitterly disappointed, packed her bags, rushed off the court with a blank stare and a short wave.
With her clear first-round defeat, she sealed the worst performance in German women’s tennis at the Australian Open since 1977.
Kerber lost against the also experienced Estonian Kaia Kanepi on Tuesday 4: 6, 3: 6. “Of course I’m disappointed that it didn’t work out today,” said the woman from Kiel, but in recent years she has learned that birthdays and matches “should be separated”.
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“I didn’t really play my best tennis,” said Kerber: “I tried to find my rhythm and come back, but sometimes there are days like this.”
In 2013, Kerber failed in Wimbledon in the 2nd round at Kanepi, a few months later the woman from Kiel took revenge in the 3rd round of the US Open. There have been no direct duels between the two since 2014 – until now (balance sheet: 2:3).
Kerber, who celebrated her first of three Grand Slam victories in Melbourne in 2016, had to lower her expectations before her 15th participation in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year after a disrupted preparation with a corona infection. “I think that every round is like a win for me,” said the woman from Kiel before the tournament started.
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She hadn’t played a preparatory tournament in the run-up to the Australian Open – and against the 36-year-old Kanepi her lack of rhythm was noticeable. But Kerber fought and caught up a 1:4 deficit in the first set. Just as she seemed to have arrived in the match, however, she again lost the thread and the sentence.
Little went together in terms of play, but the fighting spirit was right. At the beginning of the second round, Kerber fended off three breakballs, the match was like a roller coaster ride – the German number one even took the serve from the Estonian to make it 3: 2. But Kerber immediately gave up the advantage and lost the following four games.
Fended off three breakballs: Kerber shows mental strength
The 38-year-old spoke of an “impeccable performance” after his opening win. For Jan-Lennard Struff and Maximilian Marterer, however, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year ended on Tuesday.
(with SID)
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