Kerber on the defensive from the start
In the first set, Sasnowitsch dictated what happened, the German number one was repeatedly pushed onto the defensive, her backhand lacked the length. Two winners from Kerber faced 21 from Sasnowitsch.
In the second set, Kerber played more offensively, cheered her points highly emotionally and fought her way into the tie-break, in which Sasnowitsch showed strong nerves and converted her second match point after 1:29 hours.
“If it had gone into the third set, who knows what would have been possible,” said Kerber after the game.