No. 3 seed Angelique Kerber ousted from French Open
PARIS — On a roller coaster of results since her breakthrough win at the Australian Open, Angelique Kerber crashed out of the first round of the French Open on Tuesday — and hard.
What went down on Court Philippe Chatrier? Read on.
Result: Kiki Bertens (NED) def. [3] Angelique Kerber (GER) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Bertens came into Paris soaring with confidence having won both the singles and doubles crowns in Nürnberg last week at a small warm-up event. The German, meanwhile, had lost her last two clay matches after winning the event in Stuttgart a month ago.
What it means: For Serena Williams, the top seed and defending champion, it means that the two women who have beaten her most recently at Slams — Kerber and Roberta Vinci — are out of the draw, the No. 7 seed Vinci having lost Monday.
Kerber has been hard to measure since the Australian Open, her first-ever major title in which she beat Williams in a three-set thriller, denying the American a 22nd major. She was 1-3 until semifinal runs in Miami and Charleston, then picked up the title in Stuttgart before crashing out at bigger events in Madrid and Rome.
She becomes the second Australian Open champion in three years to lose in the first round here, Li Na having lost her opener in Paris in 2014.
It opens up the portion of the draw that includes American Madison Keys, the No. 15 seed. Kerber and Keys were drawn to meet in the fourth round, though dangerous players like Johanna Konta and Daria Kasatkina loom.
How it happened: Bertens, a Dutch player ranked No. 58, hits a big ball, and Tuesday she came out swinging in the day’s opening match, winning the first set 6-2. Kerber turned the tables in set two, having gone a set down to Bertens in their most recent encounter in Miami, as well.
But there was no heat and humidity for Bertens to counter (that did her in in Miami) on a chilly Parisian day and she raced to a 3-0 lead in the third set before Kerber went off court for a medical timeout to tend to a sore left shoulder (Kerber is left-handed). Bertens maintained her lead and her composure, earning the right to serve for the match at 5-3. Kerber saved two match points, but couldn’t salvage a third, a dropshot clipping the top of the net and sending Bertens into the second round after one hour, 41 minutes.
Key stat: Bertens bashed her way through this match, pummeling 33 winners to just eight from Kerber. The German hit 28 unforced errors while Bertens committed 36. It was that overall aggression from Bertens – and the lack thereof from Kerber – that was the story of this match.
What she said: “I'm really happy with that,” Bertens said on court after the win. “It was a good week for me last week [in Nürnberg], so it was great to get my first win here, as well.”
Bertens made the fourth round here in 2014 and will face either Alize Lim or Camila Giorgi in the second round.
“I was really nervous,” Bertens said of the final game of the match. “I'm happy to make it through.”
“I’m disappointed that I lost here in the first round,” Kerber told reporters. “But that’s sport… that wasn’t my best tennis today.”
--