Australian Open 2018: Kerber handed comfortable opener
Ed McCambridge
January 11, 2018
Angelique Kerber is the hot favourite to progress after being handed a straightforward tie against a compatriot at the Australian Open. The draw itself was controversial, after Maria Sharapova was chosen to host.
Image: Getty Images/Shaun Botterill
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Angelique Kerber will face fellow German player Anna-Lena Friedsam in the first round of the Australian Open. The former world number one, and winner of the 2016 tournament, will fancy her chances of victory when the pair meet on Monday. World number 45 Friedsam reached the fourth round of the competition two years ago.
The highest-seeded German in the men's draw Alexander Zverev (4) takes on Italy's Thomas Fabbiano in his opening tie. The twenty-year old could meet his brother, Mischa, in the third round. The siblings have never squared-off before.
Men's number one Rafael Nadal was handed a comfortable opener against thirty-seven year old Dominican Victor Estrella Burgos. It would be a huge upset if the world number 81 were to defeat Nadal, who lost in the final last year. Reigning champion Roger Federer (2) will take on former British player Aljaz Bedene, who defected to Slovenia for the start of the 2018 season. Novak Djokovic, who has slipped to 14th in the world rankings after missing the US Open through injury, plays American Donald Young.
Alexander Zverev at the ATP World Tour FinalsImage: Getty Images/J. Finney
Women's number one seed Simona Halep also recieved a kind draw, with Australian wild card Destanee Aiava unlikely to pose much of a threat to the Romanian. Venus Williams (2), who lost the 2017 final to her sister, was handed a relatively tough opener against Belinda Bencic. Serena Williams opted not to take part in the tournament, choosing instead to focus on her recovery after giving birth to her first child. She famously won last year's edition while two month's pregnant.
The draw itself came under added scrutiny after it was announced that Maria Sharapova would draw the matches in Williams' place. The Russian recently served a fifteen month ban for failing a drugs test. The 2008 champion handed herself a winnable opening tie against Germany's Tatjana Maria.
Of Germany's remaining notable contenders, Philipp Kohlschrieber (27) takes on Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, while women's seventh seed Julia Görges plays American Sofia Kenin on Monday.
Angelique Kerber's journey to No. 1
Angelique Kerber has become only the second German after Steffi Graf to hold the women's No. 1 ranking in professional tennis. Here's a look at how she battled her way to the top.
Image: Reuters/B. Malone
2003: Turning professional
Angelique Kerber started playing tennis at age three. Born in Bremen in 1988, Kerber moved to Kiel with her parents to live in an apartment in a training academy, where her German mother Beata and Polish father Slawek worked. At 15, Kerber turned professional, and three years later she played her first major tournament in Hasselt, Belgium.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Koepsel
2007: Into the top 100
Angelique Kerber won four titles on the International Tennis Federation tour and climbed into the top 100 in May 2007 for the first time. She made the main draw for the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, but couldn't progress. In the first round in New York, she faced Serena Williams (r.) for the first time. Kerber battled hard, but Williams prevailed 6-3, 7-5.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gombert
2008: Round two
Angelique Kerber reached the second round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the 2008 Australian Open. Back then she could have had no idea that eight years later, it would be here that she would win her first Grand Slam title.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. F. Alquinto
2011: Nearly the end
Having reached the second round in just three of 13 tournaments, 2011 was the low point of Kerber's career. The German tennis star even considered retirement. Instead, she decided to make a new start, working harder than ever and surprised everyone by reaching the semifinals of the US Open.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Clifford
2012: The breakthrough
Into the top 20 in February, top 10 in May and then the top 5 in October - in 2012 Kerber emerged as one of the best players in women's tennis. Her first WTA victory came in Paris (photo), and another followed in Copenhagen. At Wimbledon, Kerber made the semifinals, and in Cincinnati she enjoyed her first triumph over Serena Williams.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Reix
2013: Steady course
After a sensational 2012, it was time for Kerber to confirm her success. She won a title in Linz (photo), but suffered a number of defeats as well. She also took part in the WTA finals, where the best eight players of the season faced off against one another.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Gindl
2015: The return of a familiar face
Coach Torben Beltz was largely responsible for making her the player she had become, but the two parted company at the end of 2013. Kerber brought in Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh for 2014, but she suffered a dip in form. After a poor start to 2015, Kerber rehired Beltz and the German quickly returned to her winning ways.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Roberts
2015: Multiple titles
Germany's top women's player won four WTA titles (Birmingham title in the photo), something she hadn't managed in any previous year. In her match against Victoria Azarenka in the US Open, she took part in one of the matches of the year, although Azarenka was the one who prevailed.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Levy
2016: First Grand Slam
Angelique Kerber became the first German since Steffi Graf to win a Grand Slam title, beating the world No.1, Serena Williams in the final of the Australian Open. "This is a dream come true," she said after the win. "These have been the two best weeks of my life."
Image: Reuters/J. O'Brien/Action Images
A setback in Paris
It wasn't smooth sailing from there. Kerber was knocked out of the first round of the French Open by Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands. Kerber had pulled out of a tournament a week earlier due to a shoulder injury, and she required medical treatment at Roland Garros. "Of course, I'm disappointed that I lost in the first round, but that's sport and that always can happen," Kerber said.
Image: Getty Images/C. Brunskill
Another Grand Slam final
On the grass courts of Wimbledon, Angelique Kerber bounced back to reach her second Grand Slam final of the year. The world's No. 2 player battled hard but lost to the top-ranked Serena Williams 7-5, 6-3. "I would like to say congrats to Serena, you really deserved your title, you’re a great person, a great champion," Kerber said in the on-court interview.
Image: picture alliance/newscom/H. Philpott
Silver in Rio
Kerber cruised through the Olympic tennis tournament in Rio, advancing to the gold-medal match without dropping a single set. However, she had to settle for a silver medal after being upset by the No. 34 women's player, Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, thus failing in her bid to become the first German woman to win Olympic gold since Steffi Graf did so for West Germany in Seoul in 1988.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/L. Schulze
The new No.1
Kerber will be the new No.1 women's player when the WTA releases next week's rankings on Monday - as Serena Williams was defeated in the first semifinal of the US Open. The German won the Grand Slam final of 2016 on Sunday.
