A victory again at last: Angelique Kerber wins her opening match at the Masters tournament and gains new self-confidence for the French Open
After a few setbacks, tennis player Angelique Kerber has celebrated another success and reached the second round of the Masters tournament in Rome in commanding style. The former world number one easily won her opening match against the overtaxed Lauren Davis from the USA 6:1, 6:0 and will now face the Russian number 17 seed Veronika Kudermetova.
The 36-year-old Kerber had previously been eliminated in the first round at the tournaments in Miami in mid-March and in Stuttgart three weeks ago. The three-time Grand Slam tournament winner then decided to take a short break to recover from the effects of a cold and to “prepare properly on clay”. Kerber returned to the tour around the turn of the year after an 18-month maternity leave and, as expected, is still some way off her top form.
Tatjana Maria (36) from Bad Saulgau is also seeded for the women’s main draw in Rome from a German perspective. The 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist will face Czech qualifier Linda Fruhvirtová in the first round. The last of the three Masters 1000 tournaments to be held on clay is regarded as an important test of form for the French Open starting on May 26th