Former tournament winner Angelique Kerber confidently has the second round in Wimbledon (daily LIVE and exclusively on Sky) reached. The 34-year-old from Kiel won her opening match at the All England Club on Monday evening against Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 6-0, 7-5. The first set only lasted 17 minutes. In the second round, Kerber will meet Magda Linette from Poland on Wednesday.
In her 14th Wimbledon participation, Kerber won her 83rd match on grass, among the active players only the two Williams sisters Serena and Venus have won more often. Kerber is hoping for a run similar to 2021 this year, when she was only stopped in the semifinals by eventual winner Ashleigh Barty.
In Wimbledon, Kerber is more successful than in any other Grand Slam tournament. She was in the final twice, won the title in 2018 and reached the semi-finals two more times. Her dress rehearsal at the preparatory tournament in Bad Homburg ended early, but “the Grand Slams have their own rules,” said Kerber confidently before the tournament began.
After Maximilian Marterer and Jule Niemeier – both debutants in the second round of Wimbledon – Kerber was the third German to win their match on the first day of the tournament. A total of 13 players (7 men, 6 women) from Germany had qualified for Wimbledon.
Emma Raducanu has beaten Alison van Uytvanc 6-4, 6-4 and is through to round two at Wimbledon.
Raducanu after a nail-biter in round two
Corona: Ex-finalist Cilic cancels for Wimbledon
Former Wimbledon finalist and US Open champion Marin Cilic canceled his start at the tournament at the All England Club at short notice after a positive corona test. He announced this on Monday evening. The Croatian had recently surprised at the French Open in Paris by reaching the semifinals.
Cilic (33) triumphed in New York in 2014, in 2017 he lost in the Wimbledon final against Roger Federer (Switzerland). After the success in Roland Garros, he also won three matches in London’s Queen’s Club and was only eliminated in the semi-finals. At Wimbledon he will be replaced by lucky loser Nuno Borges (Portugal).
Otte doesn’t give Gojowczyk a chance
Oscar Otte clearly won the German opening duel in Wimbledon against his buddy Peter Gojowczyk. The only seeded German in the men’s field won 6:1, 6:2, 6:1 after just 1:18 hours and just in time before nightfall in the south-west of London. The match started late after two heavy downpours.
Otte (28) meets Jay Clarke (USA) or Christian Harrison (USA) on Wednesday, but his demands have now increased. Last year Otte had to fight his way through the qualification, in the absence of the injured Alexander Zverev (Hamburg) he is now the German number one.
And quite self-confident: After he had been put on the seeding list at short notice due to the cancellation of Frenchman Gael Monfils, he said: “It may be that one or the other was happy that I am now seeded.” After the semi-finals in Stuttgart and Halle/Westphalia it is considered an insider tip on grass.
After Maximilian Marterer, Otte is the second German in the second round. A total of seven players from the German Tennis Association (DTB) have qualified for the men’s main draw at the All England Club. Zverev had to cancel his start after the ligament tear in Paris.
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Featured image: Imago.