Kerber in top form
59 Minutes taken by Kerber to defeat Strycova
Showing the intensity that gave her two Grand Slam titles in 2016, Angelique Kerber waltzed into the round of 16 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
The sixth seeded player from Germany never faced a breakpoint in her opening match against Barbora Strycova — the tenacious player from the Czech Republic who reached the final here in 2016.
Kerber took only 59 minutes to complete that emphatic (6-2 6-1) victory over Strycova on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old German will now take on a player who beat Strycova in that 2016 Dubai final — Sara Errani.
Errani came through the qualifiers this time and she was on top of her game in her 6-4 6-3 win over Ukranian Lesia Tsurenko on Tuesday.
But Kerber could be a bridge too far for Errani.
“I was trying to play my game. I played a good match. I played a solid match,” Kerbar said after her victory.
“It’s always tough to play against her (Strycova). You never know what’s gonna happen. She’s always a fighter. But I’m happy to have won the match in two sets.”
Such has been the confidence level of Kerber that she is not even looking at her inferior head-to-head record (1-2) against Errani, her next rival in Dubai.
“You know, I’m not looking at who I’m playing. I am trying really to focus on my game. Of course, I know against who I’m playing. But at the end she had great matches here. She played quallies, as well,” she said.
“I will just try to play another good match, playing like I played the last weeks. This is more about focusing on my won game, and not against who I’m playing.
“I mean I try to play every single match separate, focusing on every round, of course, going out there to win the matches, playing the way I play in practice.
“And yes, I like to play here in Dubai. I like the weather. It’s always nice and sunny.” While Kerber’s next opponent Errani has continued her dream run, another veteran, Samantha Stosur, couldn’t clear the first hurdle after having come through the qualifying rounds.
The former US Open champion lost a tough three-set battle to Estonian Anett Kontaveit 1-6 6-2 6-4.
After having won her three qualifying rounds with ease, Stosur didn’t have the gas in the third set against the 22-year-old Kontaveit.
In the first match of the day, American teenager Cici Bellis turned on the style to beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens, the Australian Open semifinalist, in straight sets (6-3 6-3).
Now the reward for Bellis, a quarterfinalist in Dubai last year, is a round of 16 clash against two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza.
Meanwhile, Lucky Loser Qiang Wang of China stunned Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3 6-0.