Angelique Kerber has been warned despite being the clear favorite in her opening game on the grass classic in Wimbledon.
“The first rounds are never easy, it’s important to stay calm and focused from the start,” said the 34-year-old winner of 2018 before her first-round duel with Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic. The match takes place as the third game on Court 1.
Two years before her big triumph, Kerber had already reached the final, in 2021 and 2012 she was in the semifinals. But the former tennis world number one on the legendary Church Road has already had an early exit on several occasions. Three years ago she surprisingly failed in the second round against American Lauren Davis.
Her opponent Mladenovic had recently won doubles at the French Open, but in singles the 29-year-old is far from the form of the past. “It’s not an easy opponent,” said Kerber. “She knows how to play on the big pitches.”
The player from Kiel was eliminated in her only preparatory tournament on grass in Bad Homburg against Alizé Cornet from France in the quarter-finals. Kerber is 15th in Wimbledon and could meet the new world number two Ons Jabeur from Tunisia in a possible round of 16.
