Angelique Kerber has been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the WTA tournament in Rome. The 30-year-old lost against the Ukrainian defending champion Elina Svitolina (No. 4) after a good start with 4:6, 4:6.
Kerber was the last German competitor in the dress rehearsal for the French Open in Paris starting next week.
Kerber had been leading 4-2 at the beginning, but then lost their serve five times in a row and thus, among other things, lost the first set. Because the world number four Svitolina also had problems with their service, the game remained open for the time being. After 1:27 hours, however, the Ukrainian turned her first match point into victory.
Kerber can nevertheless draw a positive conclusion from the 3.35 million dollar tournament in the Italian capital.
At her first start since her injury-related retirement from her home tournament in Stuttgart, the two-time Grand Slam winner had shown an increasing sand court form with successes against Sarina Dijas, Irina-Camelia Begu and Maria Sakkari.
Germany’s current number one Julia Görges, currently placed eighth in the world rankings ahead of Kerber, had cancelled her start in the “eternal city” due to illness. Laura Siegemund was eliminated in round one against the Russian Yelena Wesnina.