GERMANS WITH SHOT AT GLORY
Gorges and Kerber make last eight
GERMANY may still be coming to terms with that unfamiliar feeling of an early World Cup exit but the nation has high hopes for this weekend at Wimbledon.
Two female players are performing with all the poise and power that was so lacking in their football compatriots and they could well prove the sharpest threats to the Serena Williams procession.
Angelique Kerber has been to a Wimbledon final before and is a two-time Grand Slam champion. By contrast Julia Gorges is into unchartered territory — her first major quarter-final — but has served the most aces in the women’s draw at 41.
Dietmar Hamann, the former Germany footballer, was in the Court 3 stands to watch Gorges beat Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-3, 6-2.
Vekic, 22, had boyfriend Stan Wawrinka in her corner and plenty of fight to her game. This was not the walkover the scoreline suggests. But Gorges, 29, was too accurate with her serve and had the edge in the rallies.
Up next for the 13th seed is Kiki Bertens, her sometime doubles partner. ‘We know each other well and we go for dinner sometimes,’ said Gorges. ‘It’s a great opportunity for both of us. I’m an aggressive player and I don’t want to hope to get to the next round, I want to take it in my hands.’
On Court No 1 Kerber came through a tough test against Belinda Bencic, the 21-year- old Swiss who, after injuries, is getting back to the form that made her a top-10 player.
Bencic broke Kerber early but the 30-year- old is coolness personified under pressure and kept to the hard-running style that tends to wear down opponents.
Kerber, at 11 the highest seed left, won five straight games to take the first set and had mental strength in a second-set tiebreak to win the match 6-3, 7-6.
Kerber made the Wimbledon final in 2016 — losing to Serena — and that year won the Australian and US Opens to rise to world No 1. The only female to make the second week at each of this year’s Grand Slams, she can now challenge for the title.
Daria Kasatkina, the Russian 14th seed, is her last-eight opponent. ‘I am not feeling the pressure,’ said Kerber. ‘It’s still a long way until the end.’