Kerber marks her return to form, next up is the front-runner.
The world's best tennis prodigies only have two more weeks to reach peak performance for the second major tournament of the year - and Angelique Kerber is right on track. The three-time Grand Slam champion is currently enduring the ultimate endurance trial.
Tennis sensation Angelique Kerber is continually improving her game two weeks before the French Open kicks off. Once the ranking's top player, Kerber defeated Belarusian Alexandra Sasnovich 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the third round of the Masters 1000 clay court tournament in Rome, making it to the round of 16. There, the 36-year-old Polo will lock horns with Polish top seed Iga Swiatek, who had just beaten Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4.
Kerber had held the upper hand throughout the first set against Sasnovich, ranking 13th in the world, but lost her grip in the second set after leading 2-1 and was ultimately 2-5 behind. She then bounced back and managed to wrest control of the match, warding off three set points and ultimately dominating the tiebreak.
Kerber was equally impressive in the previous rounds against American Lauren Davis and Russian number 17 seed Veronika Kudermetova, not losing a single set. This three-time Grand Slam winner is the final German player competing at the clay court tournament, which is seen as the last crucial pre-trial test for the French Open in Paris, starting May 26.
This is Kerber's first tournament since the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April, where she was bested by Britain's Emma Raducanu in the first round due to health issues. She then decided to take a brief pause to recover from the cold's effects and prepare adequately for clay court play. Kerber returned to the tour following a 1.5-year maternity break in the new year.
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- Angelique Kerber must navigate the 'Path' to the French Open, closely trailing the tournament's front-runner in her quest to regain 'Top form'.
- Despite initially losing grip during her match against Sasnovich, Kerber showed her mettle, pushing towards a 'Race to catch up' and ultimately securing the win in the tiebreak, positioning herself as a strong contender in Rome and making her a potential 'Top favorite' in the upcoming French Open.
- With Kerber's impressive performance in the clay court tournament serving as a 'Test' for the French Open, tennis experts have started to consider her return to form as a key factor in the 'Race to catch up' to become this year's clay court champion and potentially securing another Grand Slam title.
Source: www.ntv.de
