Australian Open: First round exit for Kerber in Grand Slam comeback

Angelique Kerber was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open. In her Grand Slam comeback, the 35-year-old was defeated by the American Danielle Collins 2:6, 6:3, 1:6 in Melbourne on Tuesday. Collins, in the final of the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season in 2022, converted her second match point after 1:52 hours.

Kerber only returned to the tennis tour at the United Cup around the turn of the year after an 18-month baby break. Previously, she had not played a match since Wimbledon 2022 and gave birth to her daughter Liana in February 2023. Their expectations were correspondingly low before their first appearances.

“This will probably be the biggest challenge of my career,” Kerber said shortly before her return to the tennis tour. “I don’t put any pressure on myself.” Winning the title at the United Cup in Sydney alongside Alexander Zverev had made Kerber want more again. “I still have the fire,” she said upon her arrival in Melbourne, where she celebrated her first of three Grand Slam titles in 2016.

Kerber lacked the power

Against Collins, Kerber was clearly shown that there is still a long way to go for her to really be competitive against the best. Although the North German quickly made up for a 0-2 deficit in the first set, she made too many simple mistakes after that. Kerber lacked the power in her strokes and had major problems, especially with her own serve. After 34 minutes, Collins took the first set.

In the second round, Kerber improved and showed her famous fighting spirit. The former number one now acted more courageously and managed to equalize the set. However, Kerber was unable to carry the momentum into the deciding set. Collins managed a quick break, Kerber now hung her head and was eliminated two days before her 36th birthday.