US Open: Hard fought: Angelique Kerber after mandatory victory in the second round

Angelique Kerber is in the second round of the US Open after an arduous opening success. The Wimbledon winner won 7:6 (7:5), 6:3 against Margarita Gasparyan (Russia) and will face Johanna Larsson in her next match on Thursday. The result of the duel with the Swede is 3:0 for the Kieler.

After 1:44 hours the fourth seeded Kerber converted her first match point against the world ranking 370th, which three years ago was already number 41 in the WTA ranking, with a serve winner.

Kerber did not really find his way into the game for a long time in the newly opened Louis Armstrong Stadium. But that was also due to the fearlessness of Gasparyan. The 23-year-old from Moscow, whose only tournament victory to date (Baku) dates from 2015, varied cleverly with her one-handed backhand, consistently pulling it through – but with her slice, she always skilfully took speed out of play.

Kerber, the 2016 US Open winner, obviously had trouble adjusting to Gasparyan. Not least because in only her fourth match since her grandiose Wibmbledon victory on the most famous court in the tennis universe, she lacked security. Gasparyan, however, made a strong start to the encounter and took a 2-0 lead after an early break.

But Kerber caught up and hinted at her qualities several times. At first, however, the 30-year-old could not use three set points in a row with her own serve at 5:4 – and had to accept the 5:5 equaliser after another break.

In the tiebreak Kerber kept his cool at 5-5 and acted courageously. With a forehand winner along the line, she won set point four, which she used.

But the Russian outsider was not shocked by this. Gasparyan kept up the good work and never got stuck. Kerber also took an early break in the second set, but fought patiently back. The fans cheered her on again and again. And at the very end she also showed the looseness in the world ranking fourth, with which she has already celebrated so many great successes.

Kerber retired from the WTA tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati in recent weeks surprisingly early after her summer break. However, after the triumph in Wimbledon, she also “put the bat out of her hands for 10, 14 days”.

Kerber had made her breakthrough in Flushing Meadows in 2011 with her entry into the semi-finals, after a few months earlier she had even thought about ending her career because of chronic lack of success.

In 2016 she won the last of the four majors and climbed to the top of the world rankings. “I feel this magic every year when I come back here,” said Angie this year before the tournament.