Wimbledon 2021: Angelique Kerber & Coco Gauff win to set up fourth-round meeting
- Published
Three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber won 12 out of 13 games after losing the first set
Wimbledon 2021 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 28 June-11 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full details here |
Former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber will face Coco Gauff in round four after coming from a set down against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
The 25th seed started slowly, slumping to 1-5 before rain halted play, but then returned to win 2-6 6-0 6-1.
Gauff was in total command against Slovenia's Kaja Juvan on Centre Court, winning 6-3 6-3.
World number one Ashleigh Barty also progressed 6-3 7-5 against Katarina Siniakova.
Last week in the German town of Bad Homborg, Kerber won her first title since her victory in SW19 in 2018 and this match offered a prime opportunity to progress.
She looked jaded at the start after a tough second-round encounter with Sara Sorribes Tormo and the much fresher Sasnovich took advantage, but after the rain delay the 33-year-old German found the kind of form that could make her a threat in the second week.
Teenager Gauff secures place in fourth round - best shots
Gauff will provide formidable opposition in round four after she dismissed Juvan in straight sets.
The 20th seed reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last month and was in charge from the start here, taking a 4-0 first-set lead with confident serving and perfectly executed winners.
She then broke early in the second set and kept her cool to wrap up the match inside 65 minutes and set up what will be an intriguing contest against three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber on Monday.
Barty beats Siniakova in straight sets
Barty began her match against doubles specialist Siniakova in commanding form but was pushed by the Czech in an entertaining match on Centre Court.
She nearly broke Siniakova in her opening service game but then did so at the third attempt and cruised to the first set.
Siniakova was broken twice in set two but fought back admirably to halt Barty's progress, saving a match point in the process.
Ultimately though, the top seed's class shone through as she came through a brutal 11th game with a crucial break and closed out the win with a composed service game.
In the last 16, she will meet Siniakova's doubles partner, French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova who prevailed in a tough battle with Anastasija Sevastova on court three, eventually winning 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 7-5 after two and a half hours.
Krejcikova needed some medical attention in a punishing first set where both players lost their serve three times but she recovered to come through in a tie-break.
Sevastova lifted her level to take the second set and nothing could split them in the decider until Krejcikova found greater depth with her groundstrokes in the 12th game to edge out the Latvian and reach the fourth round on her first appearance in the singles at Wimbledon.
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