Kerber gears up for clash with Osaka in third round
German 11th seed fought back to defeat American Liu
Former world No. 1 Angelique Kerber said she was looking forward to her first grass-court meeting with 18th seed Naomi Osaka in the third round of Wimbledon.
Kerber has a 2-1 head-to-head record against the Japanese player, with all three matches played on hard courts. Kerber lost their only Grand-Slam clash at last year’s US Open.
“I’m actually looking forward to playing against her on grass ... I know for sure I have to play good tennis and play better than the last two matches here,” 11th seed Kerber said after beating American Claire Liu 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. “We had really tough matches. I know that I have to be more aggressive, take the game in my hands.”
Osaka, seeded 18th, hit 24 winners and converted three out of four break points to power past local hope Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-4.
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty beat Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 7-5 in a match between former Wimbledon girls champions.
Barty won the junior title in 2011 while Bouchard claimed the title the following year.
Victory meant that Barty has a tour-leading 12 grass-court victories this year.
Daria Gavrilova eased past Australian compatriot Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-1 in 81 minutes to reach the third round at a major for just the fourth time in her career.
Victory also meant that 26th seed Gavrilova improved her career head-to-head record against 34-year-old Stosur to 3-3 after their fourth meeting of the season.
Hopes gone for a toss
Eugenie Bouchard’s hopes of emulating her 2014 run to the final were hit for six by former professional cricket player Ashleigh Barty.
The Canadian, whose ranking has fallen to 188th from a career-high five in 2014, had to contest three qualifying matches just to make into the main draw at the All England Club.
The effort of winning four matches over the past week to get into round two appeared to have taken its toll on Bouchard as she could do little to stop 17th seed Barty storming back from 5-2 down in the second set to seal a 6-4 7-5 victory.
Bouchard even had a set point at 5-3 up on Barty’s serve but the Australian, who took a two-year break from tennis in 2014 for a stint in professional cricket, wriggled out of that corner and won five games in a row to finish off her 24-yearold opponent.
The win carried Barty into the third round here for the first time. She will next face either 14th seed Daria Kasatkina or Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
Bouchard’s hopes of emulating her 2014 run to the final were hit for six by former professional cricket player Ashleigh Barty.