US Open: Kerber has no chance against furious Brady
End of the last sixteen, from the dream of the surprise coup in New York: Angelique Kerber clearly failed at the US Open.
by SID
last edit: Sep 06, 2020, 06:44 pm
The three-time major winner from Kiel was defeated in the last 16 to the 28th American Jennifer Brady (25) in 1:28 hours with 1: 6, 4: 6 and missed the quarter-finals in New York for the first time since her Wimbledon victory in 2018 of a Grand Slam tournament.
Kerber, who was the last German to be eliminated in the women's singles in New York, had definitely played her way into the group of favorites with her previous three matches in Flushing Meadows. "Inwardly she already feels that she belongs," said Barbara Rittner, Head of Women's Tennis at the German Tennis Association (DTB), at Eurosport.
The German number one, tournament winner in 2016, had successively eliminated Alja Tomljanovic (Australia), Anna-Lena Friedsam (Neuwied) and Ann Li (USA). "There is still a long way to go. I have already walked it, but it is still a big challenge," said Kerber before her round of 16.
Brady impressive
Against the form strong Brady she immediately felt that she had to crack a very tough nut. Her opponent had been meticulously prepared for the game by her German trainer Michael Geserer and started impressively. Kerber saw himself strongly on the defensive and initially found no answer to the tough serves and the whipping forehand of the American.
After a quarter of an hour of play it was already 1: 4 from the point of view of the former world number one. Her coach Torben Beltz tried to cheer up his athlete from the stands by shouting "Angie go!". But after just 22 minutes, the first set was lost.
Kerber, seeded at number 17, had problems with her service and fell directly behind in the second round, but then managed a break to make it 1: 1. A ray of hope? At first only briefly. Brady took Kerber's subsequent service game to zero and increased the pressure enormously.
"She has shot such matches often enough in her career," commented Rittner. But there was hardly anything to suggest a turnaround, Brady was too strong and flawless. Kerber fought and got another chance to readjust when the score was 2: 3, because her opponent had to be treated on the thigh. But the American did not let that disturb her and made it into the quarter-finals.