Kerber bucks Taiwanese baffling game, gains quarters
MELBOURNE – Angelique Kerber remains the only Grand Slam singles winner in the Australian Open women’s draw after surviving a frustrating fourth-round match.
For a while, though, it appeared the former No. 1-ranked Kerber’s progress may have unraveled against No. 88-ranked Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan, a former No. 1-ranked doubles player with a doublehanded grip on both sides.
With a mix of slice and chips, lobs and bunts, whippy half-volleys and wristy crosscourt ground strokes off both wings, Hsieh pushed Kerber to the extremes and unsettled her rhythm. The 2016 champion finally got a succession of breaks to take the second set and dominate the third in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory on Monday afternoon.
“Credit to her. She played an unbelievable match,” said Kerber, who won the Australian and US Open titles and reached No. 1 in 2016. “I was feeling I was running everywhere. She was playing a lot of corners and drop shots. I was bringing a lot of balls back.”
After holding it together to improve her winning streak to 13 matches, Kerber faces US Open quarterfinalist Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.
Keys returned to the quarterfinals here for the first time in three years with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 8-seeded Caroline Garcia. She is yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park and is averaging a brisk 62.5 minutes on court through her first four rounds.