That was clear: Angelique Kerber was shown her limits in the third match after her maternity break. Alexander Zverev now has to judge in the quarterfinals of the mixed competition.
Tennis player Angelique Kerber has suffered the first significant setback after returning from a year and a half maternity leave.
The former world number one had no chance for a long time in her singles quarter-final match at the United Cup against the Greek Maria Sakkari and lost 0:6, 3:6. After 1:14 hours, Sakkari converted her third match point. The German team is 0-1 behind in the duel with Greece for a place in the semi-finals in Sydney.
The Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, who is still unbeaten this year, is under pressure in the subsequent match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, third in the world rankings. Only if the Hamburg player wins could the decision be made in the mixed doubles.
Kerber, who was able to convince at times in her previous defeats against the Italian Jasmine Paolini (4:6, 5:7) and the French Caroline Garcia (6:1, 2:6, 2:6), did not get into the game at all and made many mistakes. When the first game was won 1:3 in the second set, Kerber’s teammates and their coach Torben Beltz jumped up from their seats and gave encouraging applause. Immediately afterwards, the 35-year-old from Kiel managed a break, but it was no longer enough to win the set.
Germany won against Italy in the preliminary round and lost against France. The team competition is considered preparation for the Australian Open in Melbourne, which begins on January 14th. For Kerber, the mixed event is her comeback on the tennis tour after the birth of her daughter Liana at the end of February 2023.
Source: Stern
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