Wimbledon 2017: German power-hitter Angelique Kerber survives scare in advancing to Wimbledon fourth round

  • 09/07/2017
World No.1 Angelique Kerber in action at Wimbledon
World No.1 Angelique Kerber in action at Wimbledon Photo credit: Getty Images

World No.1 Angelique Kerber has shrugged off a scheduling snub to survive a huge scare and reach the second week of Wimbledon.

Kerber lived dangerously for more than two hours before finally subduing the tenacious challenge of American outsider Shelby Rogers in three sets to scrape into the fourth round.

Runner-up to Serena Williams last year, Kerber hopes her 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 escape -- after trailing by a set and a break against the 70th-ranked Rogers-- not only proves a turning point in her campaign, but her entire season.

After last year being the first woman apart from Williams in a decade to contest three grand slam finals in a season, German Kerber has struggled for form and confidence in 2017.

The 29-year-old arrived in London with just one quarter-final showing in her past five events but, with the pregnant Williams out of the picture, Kerber now senses an opportunity to add a Wimbledon trophy to her 2016 Australian Open crown.

"It was for sure a really important win for me today, especially because it was a really up-and-down match," Kerber said.

"I was down at least 2-4 in the second set. I turned around the match.

"Maybe it is a turnaround. We will see."

The top seed was forced to play on Court 2 on Saturday but refused to make a fuss, despite no men's world No.1 having been seen anywhere but Centre Court or Court 1 this century.

"I'm really not looking out of the schedule," Kerber said.

"I'm trying to think more about my game. Doesn't matter which court. I just go out there, try to play my game.

"It was a really good atmosphere there. I mean, we had full house. It was really good to play on this court."

Kerber next faces 2015 finalist Garbine Muguruza for a place in the quarter- finals after the Spanish 14th seed ousted Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-2 6-2 in just 70 minutes.

Yet another former runner-up to Williams, Polish ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, also progressed to the last 16 with a 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory over Swiss Timea Bacsinszky.

Radwanska, the 2012 finalist, will play seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round after the Russian veteran blew away Slovenia's Polona Hercog 6-4 6-0.

In other third-round matches, 24th seed Coco Vandeweghe struck 23 winners to beat fellow American Alison Riske 6-2 6-4, while Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova continued her fine grasscourt run with a 6-2 6-1 rout of Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko.

Rybarikova next meets Croatian qualifier Petra Martic, who marched on with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 defeat of Kazakh wildcard Zarina Diyas.

Reuters