At the Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Laura Siegemund had to admit defeat to Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk after more than three hours. Angelique Kerber also lost her match.
Former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber missed the hoped-for place in the round of 16 in Stuttgart. In her first appearance at a German tennis tournament after her maternity leave, the 36-year-old clearly lost to Brit Emma Raducanu 2:6, 1:6 on Wednesday evening. With their exit, the strong indoor clay court tournament will continue from the second round in singles without German participation.
Courageous Kerber lacks consistency
Kerber’s first set against the sensational winner of the 2021 US Open was more competitive than the result made it look. The Stuttgart winner from 2015 and 2016 appeared aggressive and courageous against Raducanu (21), who was sidelined with an injury for months last year. But she couldn’t maintain the level. With the score at 2:3, the left-hander lost three games in a row and gave up the first set.
In the second section, too, the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner lacked the consistency at the level to at least make the result a little closer. In the end, Kerber had to accept her fourth first-round exit at the fifth tournament since she returned to the tennis tour as a mother at the beginning of the year. The woman from Kiel had recently been weak due to a cold. Kerber reported that she was “extremely ill”. The former world number one was not involved in the success of the German tennis women in Brazil in the Billie Jean King Cup last weekend.
Siegemund also loses their first round encounter
Laura Siegemund also missed out on the round of 16 at her “home game” in Stuttgart despite a great fight. The 36-year-old, who most recently played for the German team in the Billie Jean King Cup, failed in her first round encounter against the strong Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk 3:6, 7:6 (7:4), 4:6.
Siegemund, who won the tournament in 2017, fought hard against the world number 27. Kostyuk. She repeatedly countered breaks, but finally had to congratulate her opponent on her victory after 3:09 hours. On Friday and Saturday, the woman from Filderstadt made a significant contribution to the German tennis women’s entry into the final round of the Billie Jean King Cup with two individual successes in Brazil.
Jabeur prevails against Yekaterina
The three-time Grand Slam tournament finalist Ons Jabeur took a step out of her slump in form at the tennis tournament in Stuttgart. Despite being down one set, the world number nine from Tunisia won on Wednesday against Russian Yekaterina Alexandrova 2:6, 6:3, 7:6 (7:1) and thus moved into the second round. Jabeur had previously lost five matches in a row on the tour. After her win against the world number 16, Jabeur will face the Italian Jasmine Paolini in Stuttgart. Last year Jabeur reached the semi-finals.
Broadcast on Wed, April 17, 2024, 6:40 p.m., SWR1 Baden-Württemberg
2024-04-17 21:18:00
#Tennis #Stuttgart #Angelique #Kerber #Laura #Siegemund #eliminated
