At the US Open, Alexander Sverrev was particularly in a hurry, after which Angelique Gerber was finally allowed to play. His match against Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine was postponed due to a severe storm in New York, so the 33-year-old German did his job fast.
The next round was easy: Angelique Gerber.
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Gerber was clearly favored against Kalinina because he was ranked 17th out of 58 in the world, but only on clay in Ukrainian terms – including winning the French Open in the first round against Gerber (6: 2, 6: 4). But this time it was different. The 24-year-old lost his first service game on a tough court in Arthur Ashe. After that, outsiders had a chance to break back quickly, but Gerber was able to get her service.
Overall, the German was not always consistent when serving on her own, for example, she missed the passage at 5: 1 – after a while, closed the first set at 6: 3. “I lost to them in Paris, but the conditions were different – and on clay,” Gerber said after the match at “Eurosport”: “I knew I had to dictate the game aggressively. That was the key to the match.”
Waiting for Stephens Gerber
The start of the second set went entirely to Gerber’s taste, he initially caused a double break and then couldn’t get out of her way. The 2016 US Open winner won in 66 minutes (!) 6: 3, 6: 1 Now he meets the 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens, who previously showed his teammate and super talent Coco Kauf (USA) 6: 4, 6: 2 in their place.
“I knew I had to play my game from the beginning. She was an incredibly talented athlete, a world-class tennis player who had won here before. She was playing in front of the house. I had to be mentally strong and try to play tennis better.” Gerber said in view of the match, there was not a good record against him. Gerber had only won his first of the previous six fights against the Americans.