Kerber’s another gun gone

ANGELIQUE Kerber has joined the list of US Open favourites to be bundled out of the tournament, while Maria Sharapova advanced.

Wimbledon champion Kerber was another singledigit seed eliminated in the first week after a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 defeat to Dominika Cibulkova — leaving none of this year’s grand-slam winners left in the women’s draw.

Only one of the top-four seeds on the women’s side remain in the last 32 — defending champion and third seed Sloane Stephens.

“I was not able actually to play my best tennis in the important moment,” Kerber said.

She wasn’t the only favoured player to lose yesterday with Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova, sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia, Latvian 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko and No.13 seed Kiki Bertens also eliminated.

Sharapova continued to enjoy working the night shift with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ostapenko, improving her record to 22-0 under the Arthur Ashe Stadium floodlights.

“It’s the energy you get, no doubt I feed off this energy,” Sharapova, the 2006 US Open champion, said.

Sharapova cashed in on Ostapenko’s struggling serve and broke seven times to set up a meeting with Spanish 30th seed Carla Suarez-Navarro.

Kvitova was no match for in-form Aryna Sabalenka in the final third-round match, the Belarusian dropping just one point on serve in the second set of her 7-5, 6-1 victory.