Angelique Kerber continues her Olympic story
Angelique Kerber keeps pushing her retirement further: In the Olympic tennis tournament's round of 16, the former world number one surprisingly defeats favorite Leylah Fernandez in straight sets.
Angelique Kerber's Olympic medal story is becoming more and more realistic. The former world number one from Kiel advanced to the quarterfinals of the Summer Games in Paris with a 6:4, 6:3 win over former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez from Canada. She is now just two wins away from her second Olympic medal, after winning silver in Rio in 2016.
In her third Olympic quarterfinal, following appearances in 2012 and 2016, Kerber will face either Emma Navarro (USA, No. 11) or Zheng Qinwen (China, No. 6).
Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion, had announced just before the start of the Summer Games that she would retire from professional tennis after 21 years following the Olympics. In Paris, the 36-year-old is still competing in doubles with Laura Siegemund, with their first match against British pair Katie Boulter and Heather Watson scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Just 24 hours after her grueling three-set victory over Romania's Sorana Cirstea, Kerber had to take to the court again in the midday heat. Against the 14-year-younger Fernandez, who had defeated Kerber in the round of 16 at the 2021 US Open in a dramatic match and lost to Britain's Emma Raducanu in the final, Kerber was fully focused from the start, playing like her old self. She sealed the victory with her second match point after 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Kerber's Olympic success continues, as she moves closer to potentially winning another medal at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris. If she continues to perform at this level, she could make history by becoming a multi-Olympic medalist.
