Tennis - Tennis player Kerber loses opening match in Berlin
Tennis player Angelique Kerber suffered a first-round loss at her long-awaited return to grass courts after her maternity break at the top-tier WTA 500 tournament in Berlin. The 36-year-old lost to Czech player Linda Noskova (19) on Tuesday with a score of 6:7 (4:7), 6:2, 4:6, missing out on the quarterfinals. Noskova converted her first match point after two hours of play in Steffi Graf Stadium.
"Of course I'm disappointed because I felt good," Kerber said: "Especially here in Berlin, it would have been nice if I could have played a few more matches." Overall, she was satisfied: "I tried to play aggressively and felt good on the grass." She took "many positive things" from the loss, the Kiel native said, "for example, that I can still keep up at a high level."
No German player in the quarterfinals
Previously, Dortmund's Jule Niemeier had failed at the grass event in Grunewald in the first round. The 24-year-old lost to last year's finalist Donna Vekic from Croatia despite an initially strong performance with a score of 6:1, 1:6, 3:6.
The $922,573 preparatory tournament for Wimbledon continues without German participation in the singles draw. The traditional tournament is highly competitive with eight players from the Top Ten. "We have a Grand Slam field," said Tournament Director Barbara Rittner.
Focus on Wimbledon
Kerber plays next at the tournament in Bad Homburg, where she also serves as tournament ambassador. After that, the former world number one will compete at the Rasen-Classic in Wimbledon starting July 1. She won her third and most recent Grand Slam title there in 2018.
After her third-round exit at Wimbledon in 2022, Kerber took an 18-month maternity leave following the birth of her daughter Liana. She returned to the tour at the turn of the year and has been fighting to regain her place among the extended elite since then.
Tournament website[No direct link provided in the text]
- Angelique Kerber's return to the grass courts, following her maternity break, ended in an opening defeat at the WTA 500 tournament in Berlin, against Czech player Linda Noskova.
- Jule Niemeier, another German tennis player, also suffered an early exit in the grass event in Grunewald, losing to Donna Vekic in the first round.
- Neither Kerber nor Niemeier will participate in the singles draw of the $922,573 preparatory tournament for Wimbledon, which continues without any German representation.
- Barbara Rittner, Tournament Director, commented that the traditional tournament at Wimbledon is highly competitive with eight players from the Top Ten.
- Kerber's next tournament will be in Bad Homburg, where she also serves as tournament ambassador, before competing at the Rasen-Classic in Wimbledon starting July 1.
- Kerber won her most recent Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2018, but her third-round exit last year prompted an 18-month maternity leave following the birth of her daughter Liana.
- Upon her return to the tour at the turn of the year, Kerber has been working hard to regain her place among the extended elite in tennis, with hopes of further success at Wimbledon.
