Angelique Kerber slays Erika Takao to reach final qualifying round – Toray Pan Pacific Open 2011
Qualifying top seed, Angelique Kerber of Germany trashed local hero, Erika Takao in straight sets at the Toray Pan Pacific Open 2011, an outdoor hard court event held in Tokyo Japan. She registered a 6-2, 6-3 success against the
23-year-old Japanese to reach the final round of qualifiers on Friday.
The highest ranked player of the qualifying draw positioned at number 33, Kerber outclassed the Japanese, ranked 245 places below her, in one hour and thirteen minutes on their second meeting. Kerber not only took revenge for her
loss at Fed Cup four years ago but also booked a final round spot in the qualifiers.
The German held her opening serve convincingly. Despite failing to save the only breakpoint faced, she capitalised on three out of seven breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to clinch the opening set with a 6-2 win. Kerber
formulated a slightly higher first serve share of 52 percent as compared to Japanese’s 48 percent but registered a fascinating 83 percent win on it.
The Bremen native, Kerber carried her winning ways into the second set and held her opening serve. She then fended off two out of three breakpoints faced and cashed in on three out of five breakpoint chances to her advantage to
seal the set by winning six games to three. The German produced a lower first serve share this time but earned a plausible 58 percent win on it.
She will next face the winner of the match between Japanese wild card enterer Remi Tezuka and the tenth seeded Taiwanese Kai-Chen Chang.
Qualifying fourth seed French Aravane Rezai also advanced into the next qualifying round. She rallied past Japanese wild card enterer Miyu Kato with a three setter mouth watering match in one hour and twenty-seven minutes.
Rezai made quick in-roads and regardless of failing to ward off the only breakpoint faced, she cashed in on all four breakpoint chances to her advantage to earn a breadstick.
She lost her ways in the second set and after failing to save all three breakpoints faced, the seed suffered a 2-6 loss.
However, the Frenchwoman converted three out of four breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to eventually clinch the decider with a 6-4 victory.
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