The first appearance of defending champion Angelique Kerber at the lawn tennis tournament in Bad Homburg had to be postponed.
The first round match of the 34-year-old German 2018 Wimbledon champion against Anastasia Gasanova from Russia was stopped on Monday evening when the score was 4-2 in the first set. The lawn had gotten too wet. The encounter will continue the following day.
There were hours of delays due to rain showers. Kerber was only able to go to Center Court more than four hours late. The tournament in Bad Homburg is her final preparation for the Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon from June 27th to July 10th. A win against Gazanova would see her meet Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in the round of 16.
Of the six German main draw participants, Tatjana Maria managed to beat the Russian Anastasia Potapova 6:3, 5:7, 6:3 and Jule Niemeier 6:2, 6:2 against the American Claire Liu despite several rain interruptions Round of 16 entry. Local hero Andrea Petkovic was eliminated the day before. The Darmstadt native lost to world number 12 Darja Kassatkina (Russia).