Tennis in Stuttgart Kerber has to accept a clear first round defeat
Lost her opening match in Stuttgart: Angelique Kerber. photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
For the first time since returning to the tennis tour as a mother, Angelique Kerber is competing in Germany. The former world number one suffered a clear defeat.
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 the British Emma Raducanu 2:6, 1:6. With their exit, the strong indoor clay court tournament will continue from the second round in singles without German participation.
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 and Maria out too
Before Kerber, Laura Siegemund was also eliminated in the first round after a long fight lasting more than three hours. The Metzinger (36) lost 3:6, 7:6 (7:4), 4:6 to the Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk. Since Tatjana Maria (36) from Bad Saulgau had already lost to the Belgian Elise Mertens on Tuesday, all Germans were out after the opening round.
dpa
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