In the middle of the Australian night, Angelique Kerber jumped through the box like a bouncy ball, she clapped, she repeatedly shouted words of encouragement to her colleagues. And at the end, at 2:20 a.m. in the Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, the former number one in the tennis world rankings was finally able to cheer enthusiastically together with Olympic champion Zverev and Laura Siegemund.
The German mixed doubles had actually secured the 2-1 semi-final win against the host team: Zverev/Siegemund beat the tough duo Matthew Ebden/Storm Hunter in extra time of the match tiebreak with 7:6 (7:2). , 6:7 (2:7), 15:13 down. “First Angelique was the MVP, she saved my butt. Then Laura was the MVP,” said Zverev, who could barely stand on his feet.
After a good night’s sleep and a little regeneration, the final of the national tournament for mixed teams will not be any easier – on Sunday, Germany awaits Poland with world number one Iga Swiatek. The Poles easily eliminated France 3-0.
Kerber with her first win since her maternity leave
Getting Australia out of the way was a tough feat. On her comeback after a year and a half of maternity leave, Kerber redeemed herself thanks to a great energy performance with her first win in the fourth match – she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic 4:6, 6:2 and 7:6 (9:7) and from then on had a permanent grin on her face . “It’s great to have a match like this before the Australian Open,” said the 35-year-old. It was her first singles victory since Wimbledon 2022.
“I really enjoy playing here. For me it’s the first individual victory after my return. And that’s a really great feeling,” said Kerber: “I tried to learn from the last three matches. And now one Winning such a tough fight means a lot to me.”
Kerber had previously lost her first three singles, some of them clearly, and she also got off to a mixed start against Tomljanovic, but after that the 35-year-old fought her way into the game better and better and showed her winning mentality. The former Wimbledon champion made fewer mistakes, her forehand became more powerful – and in the decisive tiebreak in the last set she really wanted her first comeback victory.
Then the long wait began. After his work was done, Kerber sat down in the German box and kept his fingers crossed for Zverev. Finally, the mixed team had to make the decision at night.