WTA: Kerber is looking forward to a duel with Pliskova:”There are no secrets.”

Angelique Kerber rushes on from victory to victory and is in the Dubai quarter-finals after a win against Sara Errani from Italy. There, in a new edition of the US Open Final 2016, the Kieler will meet Czech power player Karolina Pliskova.

From Jörg Allmeroth from Dubai

The courts of the Dubai Duty Free Championships were very busy this Wednesday. For her second round match against the Italian Sara Errani, Angelique Kerber even had to switch to the unpopular Court One, which is located next to the training grounds of the airline Emirates:”Sun, light, shade. I don’t know what to do,”Kerber once complained about the complicated conditions on the playground – but that wasn’t desperate moaning anymore, but a complaint that just had to come out at a moment when things had already decided.

6:4 and 6:2, the 30-year-old German finally won against the former Roland Garros finalist in 64 minutes, although she had to manoeuvre through some initial difficulties, only gained a little more inner freedom after the opening break in the second set. Kerber now meets the Czech Karolina Pliskova, a game that for Kerber always brings together the beautiful memory of the US Open triumph of 2016.

When she entered the final match against the low-emotional power player, her jump to first place in the world rankings was already sealed. Subsequently, the Kieler refined this memorable summit ascent with the second Grand Slam success of her career. Kerber and Pliskova met again last season, and Kerber won the quarter-finals of the Tokyo tournament. All in all, she leads the head-to-head standings with 6:3:”This will now be the completely different game, against one that plays with great speed and often everything or nothing,”said Kerber,”I know what to expect. There are no secrets.”

Surprising, even mysterious things were not to be expected of Kerber from Sara Errani either, except for the fact that the Italian is on the upswing again after a difficult career phase:”She went into this match with a lot of self-confidence, that was obvious. That’s why it was a difficult thing at the beginning,”said Kerber,”I had to keep a clear head somehow, stay in the game and then set the accents myself.”

But until 4-4 in the first set, however, the game remained open and Kerber had difficulties with Errani’s enormous spin balls. The German also had to keep the countenance if Errani repeated the ball throwing on almost every serve – sometimes even three times. It was inexplicably punished only once with a time warning.

The second set was easier for the 30-year-old, mainly because she was more confident and courageous in placing the balls under difficult conditions. There was once again a setback when Kerber took a 4:1 lead to a 4:2 break, but then she won the last two games – and thus also this game. On Thursday, Kerber should be happy to be able to return to his beloved Centre Court,”It just makes the tennis feel better,”she said.