As in the previous year, Angelique Kerber was eliminated in the first round of the French Open. The German number one lost to the Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina in Paris 2: 6, 4: 6 and showed an indisputable performance for a long time.
Rittner: “WI put the handbrake on again“
In 2020, Kerber had already failed at the start after a very weak performance. The former number one in the world managed next to nothing against Kalinina, and without any self-confidence, the 33-year-old from Kiel made many minor mistakes. The one-sided game at Stade Roland Garros lasted just 86 minutes. Kerber will now focus on the turf season.
“Unfortunately she was completely in shape and had the handbrake on again”, said Barbara Rittner, women’s boss in the German Tennis Association, as an expert on the TV channel Eurosport. “She has to tick that off quickly now.”
No rhythm right from the start
Kerber found no rhythm from the start and never had an attitude to the game in sunny weather. The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner slowed down her program in a frighteningly listless manner. In the first set Kerber was quickly 0: 5, only after 24 minutes did she win the first game. For a brief moment it looked as if Kerber was slowly getting into the game, but after 34 minutes the Ukrainian won the first round.
In the second section it got even worse from Kerber’s point of view. The Schleswig-Holstein woman made slight mistakes every minute, Kalinina, only number 139 in the world, didn’t have to do more than keep the ball in play. Only when the nerves came into play with the Ukrainian, Kerber was able to reduce it to 4: 5 and even had a break ball to make it 5: 5. But then she became too passive again, so that Kalinina could use her second match point.
dpa
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Stand: 30.05.2021, 13:01
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