The tennis year 2020 of ... Kiki Bertens
Kiki Bertens has had a mediocre tennis year in 2020 - with a match in Paris that was hard to beat in terms of drama.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Dec 16, 2020, 10:29 am
Kiki Bertens has blossomed in recent years - from a clay court specialist to an all-rounder. She celebrated six of her ten tournament wins on clay, but four of the last five on hard court.
In 2019 it seemed to be her chance in Roland Garros: Bertens had traveled from Madrid as the winner, had not made a sentence there and defeated Simona Halep in the final - she was not considered a secret favorite at the French Open. All the more bitter that she had to give up in round 2.
She started the 2020 season as ninth in the world rankings with a quarter-finals in Brisbane (loss to Naomi Osaka), at the Australian Open she was defeated in the round of 16 by the later finalist Garbine Muguruza. In St. Petersburg she managed to defend her title, her tenth (and so far last) WTA tournament victory.
Paris match against Sara Errani - one for the ages
The return to work after the Corona break - it was critical for Bertens. In Rome she lost at the start, in Strasbourg she had to give up her first match. In Paris, however, she played one of the most dramatic matches of the year! In round 2 she had to face Sara Errani, who had problems with serving again and often served from below. The problem: Bertens himself managed too few service games, in round three there were crazy ten (!) Breaks in a row from 3: 2 for Errani to 7: 7. Then finally Bertens managed the 8: 7, finally she could break out to win the match. And then had to be transported away in a wheelchair.
Bitter: Errani had already made fun of Bertens' cramps during the match and imitated them several times, leaving the court with a loud Italian curse. And later accused Bertens of acting.
Bertens finally made it to the round of 16, where she was defeated by surprise woman Martina Trevisan.
Kiki Bertens in 2020
- Match balance of 15: 6
- 1 tournament victory (St. Petersburg)
- Year-end ranking: 9th place