Angelique Kerber followed Julia Görges into the quarter-finals of Wimbledon: After another convincing performance, the eleventh seeded Kieler defeated the Swiss Belinda Bencic 6:3, 7:6 (7:5) and even fought off four set points in the second set. In the duel for the semi-final, Kerber will face either Daria Kasatkina (Russia/No. 14) or Alison van Uytvanck (Belgium), who had eliminated defending champion Garbine Muguruza (Spain/No. 3).
By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon
After 1:48 Kerber turned her second match point and was happy about her fourth quarter-final entry in the most important tournament in the tennis universe. The 30-year-old had also reached the Wimbledon final in her dream season 2016, when she won the major events in Melbourne and New York and became number one in the world for the first time – but failed there in two sets due to Serena Williams (USA).
On Court 1, it was clear from the start that Kerber and Bencic’s fifth duel would be a game of intense rallies. The Kieler had won her last match so far at the beginning of the year at the Hopman Cup in Perth, but lost the three games before against Bencic.
In the Swiss player’s first service game Kerber had two break chances in a row, but Bencic acted courageously and made a custom start. In the long rallies, the 21-year-old, who had been set back by a wrist blow (2017) and a fatigue fracture in her left foot (2018), was initially the more aggressive player. And this was quickly rewarded.
Bencic, loudly cheered on by her new coach Vladimir Platenik and her family in the pits, used her first break point and was leading 3-1. But Kerber fought back and now profited more and more from her strong angular play. After the 3-3 equaliser, Bencic lost the service in the ominous seventh game and became more and more dominant, while the world rankings-56. allowed more mistakes.
In the second set Bencic made her eighth Unforced Error. After 42 minutes she had to hand in the first heat. Kerber then started in set two with her sixth game in a row – and stayed on course. With her third double mistake, however, the left-hander made it possible for her now safer opponent to re-break to the 2:3 connection.
With a backhand slice to the edge of the baseline, which Bencic had checked by Hawk-Eye without the desired feeling of success, Kerber won the seventh game as in the first set. However, Bencic lived up to her reputation as a merciless fighter and took a 5-4 lead after a break. But then she could not use four set points. In one of them she had no challenge left to have a very tight line ball checked by the Germans. In the tiebreak Kerber was ice-cold and won with a service winner.
Kerber had warmed up on Monday morning from 10.00 to 10.30 am in an exceptionally cloudy sky on Court 14 in Aorangi Park, the area of the complex where the training courts are located. She was preceded by Jamie Murray. The double and mixed specialist, brother of the two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, is the British’ big and almost last remaining hope at the home grand slam. For the first time since 2007 no professionals from Great Britain are in the round of the last 16.
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