Kerber snaps Serena's win streak at 19 matches

Updated August 18, 2012 12:32:54

Angelique Kerber ended the 19-match win streak of Wimbledon and Olympic champion Serena Williams with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the quarter-finals of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.

The German fifth seed double-faulted on one match point but concluded with a winning ace on another to send the second seed out of the event, one which Williams has never won.

Williams destroyed a racquet in a fit of anger during the loss but will now have the rest days she has been seeking during her summer of success ahead of the start of the US Open, which begins on August 27.

Kerber, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, said that while she felt some nerves as she tried to close out Williams, her game withstood the big test.

"I was nervous at the end but I told myself to just keep hitting the ball," Kerber said. "Serena has been playing well. This was a good win for me and I'm very pleased."

It was the opposite story for elder Williams sister Venus, who upset defending US Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4.

Elsewhere in the women's event on Saturday morning (AEST) at Cincinnati, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-4 and Li Na downed Johanna Larsson 6-2, 6-2.

World number one Roger Federer moved closer to a fifth ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters crown as the Swiss star crushed American Mardy Fish 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to reach the semi-finals.

Federer, seeking his sixth title of the year, was in regal form as he beat Fish for the eighth time in nine meetings. The American has lost 17 of 20 sets in the one-sided rivalry.

Federer will line up on Saturday against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka after the Swiss stormed back to beat Canadian Milos Raonic 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, in another quarter-final.

Men's reigning US Open champion Novak Djokovic booked a semi-final date with Olympic bronze medallist Juan Martin del Potro by beating Marin Cilic.

Serb second seed Djokovic took only 80 minutes to dispatch the Croatian 6-3 6-2, improving to 7-0 in their career rivalry.

Argentine sixth seed Del Potro advanced to the rematch of the London Olympic bronze-medal match by ending the giant-killing run of Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-1 6-3.

Del Potro has won his past two matches against Djokovic, including the bronze showdown and in a Davis Cup tie last September.

"The match with Del Potro won't be for revenge," Djokovic said. "This is sport. You win and you lose. He is playing with confidence and it will be a big challenge to play him."

Djokovic is maintaining momentum after winning the Toronto Masters event last week. He advanced 6-0 on Thursday when injured Nikolay Davydenko retired and kept Cilic on the defensive in their quarter-final.

"It was a very good match, my best of the tournament," Djokovic said. "I'm on good form. I may have grown up on clay, but I've achieved my best career success on hardcourts."

Del Potro, who will travel to the Mayo Clinic next week to have his sore left wrist checked out by the same doctors who operated on his right wrist in 2010, has reached the last eight in seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events.

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, united-states

First posted August 18, 2012 08:41:10

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Kerber takes Wozniacki's Copenhagen title

Updated April 16, 2012 13:23:23

Double defending champion Caroline Wozniacki suffered her first defeat at the WTA Copenhagen Open on Monday (AEST) when Germany's Angelique Kerber took her title in a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Top seed Wozniacki had won the first two editions of the indoor hardcourt title in 2010 and 2011, building up a 14-0 streak in the process at her home event.

Kerber, the second seed, had lost her two previous meetings with Denmark's Wozniacki.

"I felt like I had nothing to lose. If I lost the match, it's OK against her. It made me take more chances and I'm glad it worked out," said Kerber, who won her second career title after her maiden triumph in Paris in February.

"I love playing here and today I played a really good match against Caroline. I'm happy I was able to raise my level for the last few matches here and I've gained a lot of confidence. I'm very motivated to continue working hard."

Wozniacki said she would recover fron the defeat.

"You always want to win," said the Dane.

"Yes, it's disappointing to lose, but it's not a disaster. You lose matches sometimes, and today was one of those times. There's a new match and new tournament coming, so you go on."

AFP

Tags: sport, tennis, denmark

First posted April 16, 2012 13:23:23

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Stosur beats Kerber in Fed Cup

Updated April 21, 2012 22:42:22

Samantha Stosur produced an ideal start for Australia in its Fed Cup tie against Germany by recording a 7-6, (7-1), 6-4 victory over the in-form Angelique Kerber in Stuttgart.

The US Open champion claimed victory in one hour and 41 minutes on clay to hand Australia a 1-0 lead.

World number five Stosur has tended to produce her best form of the year during the European claycourt season and Saturday's victory was a highly encouraging result following a mixed start to the year.

The 2010 French Open finalist said she had been looking forward to playing on the red dirt and was glad to hand the nation a winning start in front of a parochial crowd at the Porsche Arena.

"It is always good to get a win in straight sets," she said.

"Since making the semi-finals and the final of the French Open, I really look forward to the claycourt season.

"I was especially keen to get over for the start of it this year and I want to make the most of it as there is not that many tournaments before the start of the French (Open next month)."

Stosur had defeated Kerber in their only previous meeting at last year's US Open in three sets on the way to collecting her maiden grand slam title.

On the back of that semi-final appearance at Flushing Meadows, the world number 14 Kerber has been one of the best players on tour in 2012 with titles in Paris and Copenhagen.

Only four players have earned more ranking points on the WTA tour in 2012 than the left-handed German.

Stosur made a bright start by breaking Kerber's opening service game before a flurry of unforced errors from the Australian allowed the German to level at 4-4.

The Australian had plenty of opportunities to take out the first set before sealing it out on her sixth set point in a tiebreaker.

The Queenslander quickly broke Kerber in the second before the German broke back to even up the scores at 4-4.

However Stosur broke the left-hander's serve once more and served out for the match at her first opportunity.

The winner of the tie will play in the elite eight-nation World Group next year.

Jarmila Gajdosova will face Julia Goerges in the second singles rubber.

AAP

Tags: tennis, sport, germany

First posted April 21, 2012 22:31:39

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