Angelique Kerber wins her first singles after maternity leave, but suddenly Alexander Zverev weakens: The German tennis team misses the early finals in the mixed competition.
The German tennis team has to worry about reaching the final of the United Cup again. Olympic champion Alexander Zverev missed the decisive second point in the semi-final duel in Sydney against hosts Australia with a 7:5, 3:6, 4:6 against Alex de Minaur.
With the score at 1:1, the decision is made in the final mixed doubles, just like in the quarter-final win the day before against Greece. In the women’s duel, Angelique Kerber had previously put Germany in the lead with a 4:6, 6:2, 7:6 (9:7) against Ajla Tomljanovic and won her first individual match after a year and a half of maternity leave. The first finalist is the Polish team with world number one Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz, who clearly beat France 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Zverev suffered his first defeat of the young season in the fourth singles of the mixed competition. The long confident Hamburger lost a bit of control from the middle of the second set, and in the decisive third round he quickly fell behind after a break in the first game.
Kerber won a nerve-racking duel against Tomljanovic. “For me it’s the first individual victory since my comeback, it’s a really great feeling,” said the 35-year-old in an interview on the pitch: “I also tried to learn from the previous matches. Now here is such a tough duel Winning means a lot to me.”
The United Cup is considered preparation for the Australian Open in Melbourne, which begins on January 14th. Kerber is making her comeback on the tennis tour at the mixed event after the birth of her daughter Liana at the end of February 2023.
Source: Stern
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