Germany’s top player Angelique Kerber and former Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki have reached the round of 16 at the WTA grass tournament in Bad Homburg.
Defending champion Kerber defeated Anastasia Gasanova 6:2, 6:2 and now meets Lucia Bronzetti (Italy). After the 6: 4, 7: 6 (7: 5) against Tamara Korpatsch (Hamburg), Lisicki has to deal with the Belgian Greet Minnen.
Jule Niemeier, meanwhile, missed the quarter-finals. The 22-year-old from Dortmund lost to the top seeded Russian Darja Kassatkina in her round of 16 match 1:6, 6:3, 1:6.
After winning the tournament in Bad Homburg, Kerber reached the semi-finals in Wimbledon last year. In 2018, the left-hander became the first German to win the All England Championships since Steffi Graf in 1996. Kerber is number 15 in the 135th edition of the legendary tournament, which starts next Monday.
Lisicki had to take an 18-month break as a result of a cruciate ligament tear and only returned to the field at two smaller tournaments on the ITF/USTA tour in Florida at the beginning of May. The high-serving Berliner, who once had 27 aces in a match, failed to qualify at the WTA tournament in Berlin last week. In Bad Homburg she now received a wildcard for the main draw.