Paris (AP) – After her two and a half hour first round thriller against the Pole Magdalena Frech, Angelique Kerber just wanted to go to bed.
“At the moment there is no strength at all,” admitted the girl from Kiel, who had been on the pitch for more than three hours two days earlier in the final in Strasbourg. The German number one didn’t want to miss the two special games. Rather, they should ensure that Kerber finally goes far at the French Open in Paris. So far, reaching the quarter-finals at the Stade Roland Garros is their best finish.
Saved three match points
Kerber even had to fend off two match points against Frech in the third set. Not for the first time in a first-round match at a Grand Slam tournament. In 2016 at the Australian Open in Melbourne, she was only one point away from elimination against the Japanese Misaki Doi – and almost two weeks later she won the first Grand Slam title of her career.
“I actually thought about it for a moment after the game,” said Kerber on Monday evening. “But that doesn’t mean anything now because there are still a few matches to play.” The 34-year-old needs fresh legs first, which is why regeneration is the order of the day this Tuesday. “I’m free tomorrow, that’s the good thing about Grand Slam tournaments, and then I’ll be ready again.”
In the second round, another solvable task awaits with the French wild card player Elsa Jacquemot. After that there could be a duel with US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who is not exactly known as a clay court specialist. “The win in Strasbourg gave me a lot of self-confidence,” said Kerber. “Let’s see where the journey goes here.”