The two Grand Slam champions became the first champions of the 2021 Western & Southern Open quarterfinals in contrasting style as Angelique Kerber dropped 2-4 in the third set to beat Jelena Ostapenko 4-6, 6-2 , 7-5 and first seed Ashleigh Barty eliminated defending champion Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2.
Kerber suffered a massive 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Ostapenko in the third round in Rome in May, and a similar thing will soon be promised to Cincinnati fans as both players rumble. out the gate, win. after the winner in the opening stage.
The German was trailed by free-kick Ostapenko, who eventually scored a spectacular 49 regular goals against Kerber’s 22. But former world No. 1 Kerber played flawlessly. A watertight second set, in which she committed just two improbable fouls helped her take some breath away from Ostapenko’s momentum, and 1-3 down in the third set, Kerber managed to push through the setbacks. wild swings of your opponent and respond with aggression of your own.
Kerber’s trademark forehand shot earned her two crucial break points: a 1-3 down on the decisive goal and a 5-5, after losing the game 5-4. .
Turning point: Kerber got his first place in the third set when he closed Ostapenko from 3-0 to 3-2. But the Latvian didn’t seem to be deterred, crushing the four winners to break Kerber again with a score of 4-2, and then saving three break points to keep two points from 5-2. But right at this time, disaster struck the former champion Roland Garros. The consecutive double fouls brought her total to 9 and destroyed all her efforts. Since then, Ostapenko’s power is no longer reliable and Kerber has taken the throne.
The position of the match: Ostapenko’s no-holds-barred approach to tennis can often leave viewers reeling as well as opponents, such is the bravery of her approach. That was most evident in the way she won the first set 5-4. No player had a broken serve at the time, but Ostapenko beat 7 clean winners in that set, including 4 games in the second leg, to catch Kerber’s serve late in the evening. superior. Indeed, two consecutive backhand winners, projected to the line, will be the final two points of the set.
Data to note: Kerber has been stopped in the third round of Cincinnati in three previous appearances – in 2013 (by Li Na), 2014 (by Caroline Wozniacki) and 2018 (by Madison Keys). But each time she crossed that hurdle, Kerber reached the final, finishing second in 2012 (with Li) and 2016 (with Karolina Pliskova).
Can quote: “Australia, where I’ve spent two weeks in intense struggle, it’s not so easy. So I need a little more time to prepare for the second, let’s say. The dirt season. Smashing has never been the best for me. I’ve been waiting for the grass season, but of course, winning Bad Homburg, then playing great at Wimbledon, that gives me a lot of confidence. .. I’m just trying [to take] flow with me and enjoy my tennis and try to improve myself, on and off the court. Playing again in front of the fans has always meant a lot to me, because I need energy for my game. “
-Angelique Kerber on turning her season around.
What’s next for Kerber: Another intriguing clash with old rival Petra Kvitova, with whom she first played in 2007, or Ons Jabeur. Kerber beat both in their most recent encounter this year – Jabeur in the Grampians Trophy in Melbourne in January, and Kvitova in the semi-final of Bad Homburg in June.
Barty ruthlessly inflicts heaviest defeat in 14 years on Azarenka
In March, an intriguing quarter-final in Miami seemed to be far more one-sided than everyone expected as Barty took a 6-1 lead over Azarenka.
Once there, Azarenka was back to make a real show of it, only to lose 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 on aggregate. Five months later, the Australians were even more ruthless. Barty shot 25 winners and broke Azarenka five times, requiring just an hour and 11 minutes to end a completely dominant victory.
Despite an 85% first serve rate, Azarenka fell short of the match point in the 26-minute first round – just the ninth set of bagel the Belarusian has received in his professional career, and the first since losing to Naomi 6-0, 6-3. Osaka at Rome 2018. Barty can control the flow of almost any fundamental exchange, pulling Azarenka from line to corner with slices and sophisticated timed forehands.
Indeed, Barty would win the first 10 games of the match this way against Azarenka, venting her frustrations with powerful hits, finding an ace to keep serve. The closing stages of the match will feature some brave fighting from the defending champion and some slightly more inconsistent play from Barty, but the gap is too big to make up for it.
Though Azarenka took two match points 1-5 to hold on for the second time, another cautious approach blocked Barty’s third point in the next game.
Shot of the match: The way that Barty brought home the second match point with a score of 5-1 was encapsulated in the improvisation and touch skills of the world No. 1. Shot in the net by Azarenka, Barty seemed left out by a pass that not even her lightning reflexes could volley. But, stumbling backwards, Barty somehow placed his racquet on the ball and flung it across the road for a winning pass of his own.
Worst loss since 2007: There were only two previous matches in Azarenka’s career where she won only two. Both came in 2007, when she was just 17: lost 6-1, 6-1 to Romina Oprandi in the first round of Amelia Island, and lost 6-1, 6-1 to Karin Knapp in the first round of Roland Garros.
Barty on the bagel shelf: Today’s result is the sixth 6-0 set Barty has won in 2021. This brings her up to the round-robin overall for the season with Daria Kasatkina and Barbora Krejcikova, one behind Ons Jabeur (7) and three after Tour leader Garbiñe Muguruza (9).
Can quote: “Sometimes a score in tennis can fool you. Although it’s a pretty convincing score, for the most part of that match there are important points in every match. I feel like I was able to get a lot of those big points today.”
-Ashleigh Barty on why the match was closer than the score showed.
What’s next for Barty: Wimbledon fourth round rematch with champion Roland Garros Krejcikova, who beat Muguruza 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Barty won SW19 tipped 7-5, 6-3 en route to her second major crown.
