Top seeds crash and burn
KERBER CRASHES OUT IN STRAIGHT SETS Vandeweghe turns on the power to reach quarterfinals.
World No 1 Angelique Kerber was knocked out of the Australian Open yesterday in a stunning upset by a supremely confident Coco Vandeweghe, as yet another big seed fell.
The German, defending a Grand Slam title for the first time, had no answers to the big-hitting American who powered past her 6-2, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena to make the quarterfinals in one of the biggest wins of her career.
Kerber’s meek demise follows the early exits of women’s third seed Agnieszka Radwanska, fourth-ranked Simona Halep and sixth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova at a tournament that has been thrown wide open.
On the men’s side, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic suffered similar fates.
Top-seeded Kerber was bidding to be the first woman to successfully defend an Australian title since Victoria Azarenka in 2013, but it all went horribly wrong against a player ranked 35.
“It’s really special, to play a number one player in the world on any stage and any round. So I think I believe this is my first number one win. I’ll take that,” said Vandeweghe.
“Last year I came here and didn’t win a match. Now here I am. It was just another opponent in the way of my goals for this year,” she added.
“I set a goal of making the quarterfinals and the semifinal of a Grand Slam this year.”
Vandeweghe, who made the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2015 but had never been past the third round here, now faces dangerous seventh seed Garbine Muguruza for a place in the last four. Kerber had been slowly getting into her groove after an indifferent build-up to Melbourne, with early exits in Brisbane and Sydney this month.
But the fiercely competitive American was full of confidence after ending the campaign of Canadian comeback queen Eugenie Bouchard in round three. – AFP