WTA Rome: Cori Gauff beats Kerber at the start
The American Cori Gauff (WTA No. 15) defeated the former tennis world number one Angelique Kerber at the WTA 1000 tournament.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit: May 09, 2022, 08:09 pm
Gauff won 6: 1, 6: 4 against the 34-year-old from Kiel, who is currently number 19.
In mid-April in Stuttgart, Kerber also failed on clay in round one due to top ten player Anett Kontaveit from Estonia. Previously at the "fifth major" in Miami, former number one Naomi Osaka (Japan) was a number too big for Kerber at the start . In 2022, the three-time Grand Slam winner will already have eight defeats with only two wins - she won both in Indian Wells in March.
Kerber started the match perfectly with a break against 18-year-old Gauff in the Foro Italico, but the left-hander subsequently lost eight games in a row. Almost two weeks before the French Open in Paris, Kerber, who was able to make at least the second set a little more open, was extremely vulnerable, especially with his own serve.
US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez, Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka also started the tournament successfully on Monday.
Belinda Bencic is also through after beating Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6:4, 6:2.