Angelique Kerber hits a forehand against Catherine Bellis in her third round match at the US Open.
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The resurgent second-seeded German showed no mercy in the third-round bout.
“You never gave up on me and really helped me get through”, the 21-year-old Keys told the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. “But considering the stage of the season, the amount of matches I’ve played, what I’ve been through with my body, I think it’s actually good to have some days off and then shorter matches, from one side”. “Her groundstrokes are flawless”. However, Kerber has been the most consistent women’s player for months now and will be fresh after not breaking a sweat in her third round victory.
Both players squandered opportunities in the second before Kerber broke at the ideal time, a Kvitova double fault gifting her victory in the 12th game.
The tide turned in the second, as Bellis cut down on her errors and Rogers’ errors began to pile up. Her teenaged groupie section – Team CiCi – didn’t have much to shout about.
“I think in the first set I didn’t have a lot of rhythm”.
But the 17-year-old, who burst onto the scene in 2014 with an upset win over Dominika Cibulkova, has already given a verbal commitment to play at Stanford University, and must forfeit her windfall to maintain her college eligibility. Kerber and Williams are on a collision course for the finals next Saturday.
Rafael Nadal was upset in the U.S. Open’s fourth round by 24th-seeded Lucas Pouille of France 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) on Sunday, prolonging the 14-time Grand Slam title winner’s quarterfinal drought at major tournaments. The American had chances since the start where she held two break opportunities after coming back from 0-40, but the more experienced Kerber saved both opportunities and with it, her opening service game.
“They came out to first-round qualifying and have been to every single one of my matches since.”, she said.
“Congrats to CiCi. She played a great tournament and will have a great future”. Exhausted after the match, she had tears in her eyes. Had Bellis pulled off a miracle, she would have been the lowest-ranked player to make the fourth round since 1983.
Still, she only lost one set during the qualifiers and has since got over the top of Viktorija Golubic in straight sets, and then come back from a set behind against Shelby Rogers. Serving to force a tie-break, Kvitova ultimately succumbed on a double fault – her seventh of the night – allowing Kerber to wrap up th ematch in one hour and 28 minutes. She’s still learning how to construct points and often goes for too much.
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The gulf in class became even more apparent in the second set. In the tiebreak it was all Keys who hit 37 winners over the match and dominated on her first serve.
