Australian Open: Angelique Kerber in the ice bath - finally second week again
Angelique Kerber passes a strange endurance test and can be happy: For the first time in a year, she has reached the second week of a Grand Slam tournament.
by SID
last edit: Jan 25, 2020, 01:11 pm
After the match, Angelique Kerber at the Australian Open is still ahead of the match, and so she immediately followed her usual routine on Saturday: "cycling" and "stretching", then off to an ice bath. The three-time Grand Slam winner pays more attention than ever to good regeneration these days, the left thigh is still not completely healed.
The load was high on Saturday, Kerber ran and fought 2:08 hours before she had beaten the wild Italian Camila Giorgi 6: 2, 6: 7 (4: 7), 6: 3. This means that the 32-year-old from Kiel is back in the round of 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time since the Australian Open last year. The opponent will be Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia). An uncomfortable task.
Kerber back in the round of 16
Kerber has left the biggest stages early on since her crashing defeat in the round of 16 in Melbourne 2019 (0: 6, 2: 6 against Danielle Collins / USA): in the first round of the French Open, as defending champion in the second round of Wimbledon, then in the first round of the US Open. Now, not without relief, she said, "It's great to be in Melbourne in the second week."
Second week, this is the important stage goal for a Grand Slam, then the field is reduced to 16 players. Getting there was a "tough fight," Kerber said. Giorgi can hit hard, exceptionally fast balls, she always takes full risk, which also means: The number of mistakes can exceed the number of hits.
Tough match against Pavlyuchenkova
In her third consecutive win at Melbourne Park, Kerber benefited from 65 so-called slight mistakes by her opponent. However, mistakes and "Winner" kept in balance with the 102nd in the world rankings from the second sentence - it was therefore sometimes very uncomfortable for Kerber. In the end, 28-year-old Giorgi also stole Kerber's first match point.
Against Pavlyuchenkova, Kerber has to prepare for a tough match. Their record against number 30 in the world rankings is balanced (7: 7), many of the 14 matches were short, with six there was a third set. "It certainly won't be easier," says Kerber.
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