Angelique Kerber clears round 4 and plays Sara Errani in the next match in French Open – Tennis News
German number one, Angelique Kerber, registered her first win against the 50th ranked Croatian, Petra Martic, in the fourth round of the Roland Garros French Open. She had lost the earlier two battles but managed to
squeeze straight sets 6-3, 7-5 victory on Sunday.
Last two clashes were played around three years ago and a lot hand changed since then. The 24-year-old German has raced up to break into the Top-10 players of the year whereas the Croatian is bidding to improve her career-high
ranking of world number 47 before the start of the Olympics in London.
Martic started off very cautiously; saved a couple of breakpoints in the opening serve game but couldn’t stop the German from taking an early lead. However, she instantly bounced back in the match and reversed breakthrough in the
following game. She held her serve to 40:15 and tied the scores at 2-2.
Both players continued to convert the serve games in their favour despite a bit of resistance from each opponent. At the scores of 4-3, the German broke serve with a stunning winner across the court to post a lead of 5-3.
German tennis ace just needed to hold serve and the first set was over. She did exactly that after dropping a couple of points and strengthened her position. The left-handed German used the angles to her advantage and made life
difficult for the Croatian. However, it was clear that the match will go down the wire in the second set.
The 21-year-old Croatian lost the opening serve game in the second set and was pushed down to a trail of 0-2 at the start. Both players kept on holding their respective serve games and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. At the
scores of 4-3, the Croatian grabbed the vital breakthrough and did that in style; broke serve at 15:40.
It was a great turnaround in the proceedings and both players were now one level term. No drama was seen until the scores moved to 5-5. However, the experience of the German player helped her sneak a timely breakthrough in the
11th game and fought extremely well to hold serve and book a spot in the last eight.
On her triumph, Kerber stated, “I just tried to play point by point, and at the end it was just two or three points that decided the match. I wasn't playing my best tennis, but I just tried to stay in it and tried to be aggressive
whenever I could be.”
Martic also commented on her performance. She said, “Besides some unforced errors I made, I don't see too many negative things about my result. I proved to myself I can play against the best players in the world, and today, even
though I didn't play great in the beginning, it was a competitive match with a lot of good points."
Italian tennis ace, Sara Errani, is the next opponent for the German. It will be an epic battle especially considering that both players have been in thunderous form in the recent past. I expect it to be a cracking three-setter
with Kerber still the favourite to win the match.
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