WTA: Barthel in Nuremberg ready for duel with Bertens

Germany’s hopes rest on Mona Barthel at the WTA tournament in Nuremberg. Andrea Petkovic retired on Tuesday in a tennis thriller.

This will be a hit for the spectators: Mona Barthel will meet two-time Nuremberg winner Kiki Bertens in the round of 16 on Wednesday. Barthel won the two-day leading German duel with Carina Witthöft 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday. The match had been abandoned the evening before due to a thunderstorm after the first set. On Whit Monday, Bertens from the Netherlands had confidently started the “Mission title defence” – with a 6:1, 6:1 victory over the Serbian qualifier Dejana Radanovic.

“It was a great start for Mona. It’s incredibly difficult to play against a good friend. It was also noticed that they sometimes had a thought too much in their head, because they know each other very well. I think it was a high-class game. Mona will now go into the game against Kiki Bertens with a lot of tailwind, which will be a big challenge for her,” analysed Christopher Kas, former professional and coach of Mona Barthel. His protégé agreed with him: “Yes, it’s a great opportunity for me to play the defending champion. I’ll see what level I’m on right now. I have nothing to lose,” said the 27-year-old, who found her second home in Rosenheim.

Andrea Petkovic experienced a roller coaster of emotions in her match against Sorana Cirstea. After the 6-2, 2-0 lead, it seemed only a matter of time before the 30-year-old celebrated her promotion to the round of 16. But in the end Cirstea got better and better into the game and won the second set in the tiebreak 7:6 (7:3). The third set offered the fans on the densely packed grandstand on Center Court high tension until the last rally. Petkovic was already leading 5:3, but then sealed their fate with three mistakes. Final score after 2:39 hours: 2:6, 7:6, 7:6 for the Romanian. “It was nice to see that people still know who I am and still want to see me – and they got drama again,” said a severely disappointed “Petko” after the match Cirstea now meets the American Madison Brengle (Wednesday not before 1 pm on the Center Court).

Here the single tableau in Nuremberg