Angelique Kerber has to wait more than three months for her first win this year. In Indian Wells she succeeds after a lot of hard work. Now the German number one is facing a possibly emotionally difficult duel against a Russian.
In terms of sport, Angelique Kerber knows what to expect after her first win this tennis year – emotionally, on the other hand, she cannot properly assess it before the duel with Russian Daria Kasatkina. “I try to turn that off on the pitch, which isn’t that easy. My grandparents are from Poland, I live in Poland too, it’s all very close,” said the 34-year-old after her hard-earned success against China’s Qinwen Zheng late on Friday evening.
Tennis: Kerber in Indian Wells against Russian Kasatkina
The war instigated by Russia in Poland’s neighboring country Ukraine is keeping Kerber busy. “It’s all really incredibly crazy what’s going on in the world right now. I really hope we just get peace. After Corona, this crazy thing is happening there – madness,” she said. “Of course everyone’s talking about it and you’re checking the news every hour what’s going on – well me especially because we’re close and it’s not such a nice feeling.”
What happened in Volkspark this week? What about HSV ahead of the next matchday? Every Friday, the Rautenpost provides you with analyses, updates and transfer rumours. Just in time for the weekend, you will receive a brief summary of all the latest news of the week about HSV from us – directly by e-mail to your inbox. Click here and subscribe for free.
Kerber knows Kasatkina as an opponent from last fall, when she also won three sets against her in Indian Wells. “It’s always very tricky to play against them. She plays very variably. I have to stay tuned and dictate myself. I know what’s coming,” said the native of Kiel.
After a tough fight, Kerber celebrates its premiere victory
The former number one in the world rankings, on the other hand, was not even aware that she had clinched her first victory of the year under floodlights in the Californian desert. The win against Kasatkina in October was followed by another in the round of 16 – since then there has been no success. In December, Kerber became infected with Corona, and in Australia and Doha she flew out of the tournament after the first match.
At Indian Wells, she had a first-round bye as the No. 15 seed. “I feel good, but of course I needed the weeks and days to get fit again,” reported Kerber. “Everything that you actually do in the offseason, I’ve now tried to catch up after Australia and in the time. It will take time. ”That is why she cannot expect herself to play her best tennis right away.
You might also be interested in: “Hurt me”: Ukrainian tennis star calls for the exclusion of all Russians
That could be seen in the duel with Zheng – Kerber lost the second set against the 19-year-old, and in the third set she was two breaks behind. “In the end I was just trying to come back,” she said. “Now I have a match here and I always enjoy playing my way into the tournament. So I hope the next one will be a bit better from my side.”
The Masters in the Californian desert is one of the most important tournaments on the WTA tour. The hard court event is worth $8,584,055. Kerber was in the final in 2019 and lost in the quarterfinals last year to the later winner Paula Badosa from Spain in the edition that was postponed to autumn due to Corona. (dpa/jvd)
