Angelique Kerber disposes Caroline Wozniacki in round three – China Open 2012
World number six, Angelique Kerber, stopped the 11th ranked Dane, Caroline Wozniacki, in her steps at the third round clash of the China Open. On Thursday, the 24-year-old German dug deep to dispatch the two years younger
Dane in an hour and 47 minutes; winning the contest 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
The head-to-head series between the two players was tied at 2-2 at the start of the encounter but the recent two matches in the current year were won by the sixth ranked German so the odds were definitely tilting in her favour.
However, the Dane gave a tough fight maybe to strive for the Top-8 spot that will take her to the year-end season finale at Istanbul.
The opening set witnessed a trade of breakthroughs coupled with successive serve holds for the German. Kerber continued to break serve at the other end and didn’t allow the 10th seed Dane to settle into the contest.
She won the opening set in quick succession and stamped her authority in emphatic fashion.
However, the unexpected comeback from the Dane was a treat to watch. She held her serve in the second set and broke serve to take a lead. She was tested in the following game but sneaked a serve hold to protect the early break.
From that stage, the German didn’t show any desire to fight back and almost through in her mind that the set was gone.
Wozniacki broke serve again in the fifth game and took a resounding lead of 5-1 courtesy a serve hold. She ruling the show at that stage and no one could have thought that the player on roll had lost the opening set in such a dismal
fashion. She won the second set with ease and enforced the deciding battle into play.
The final set began with a serve hold at both ends but not before Kerber squandered an opportunity to break serve in the second game. Both players capitalized on their serves until the final game of the match. The scoreboard pressure
had a better of Wozniacki who faltered to gift the most crucial serve game of the match.
Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova will lighten up the quarter-final show on Friday.
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