Angelique Kerber crashes out; Serena Williams survives second-round scare at Wimbledon
Full round-up from day four of the women's singles at Wimbledon
Saturday 6 July 2019 12:10, UK
The defending champion Angelique Kerber crashed out of Wimbledon in the second round after a 2-6 6-2 6-1 loss to Lauren Davis on day four of the Championships.
Lucky loser Davis fought back from a set behind to claim the stunning victory over last year's champion on Court Two.
Despite not winning a tournament since winning in SW19 last year, Kerber had shown some good recent form including reaching the final in Eastbourne last week.
The 31-year-old, who had avoided becoming the first ladies' champion to be defeated in the first round the year after since Steffi Graf in 1994, came unstuck after a dominant start.
A 6-2 opener was followed by Davis winning 12 of the next 15 games to seal a place in the third round and the victory marks only the third top ten win of Davis' career.
Serena Williams, Kerber's opponent in last year's showpiece final, also found life tough going early on in her second-round match.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion lost her first set by 6-2 before finding her range at the start of the second and pressing forwards from there.
In front of the watching HRH Duchess of Sussex she managed to brush aside her 26 unforced errors in order to beat the qualifier Kaja Juvan 2-6 6-2 6-4.
"I just have to remember that I'm best at closing matches, I'm good at it," said Williams following the match.
"I just have to keep the mind frame of where am I, what do I do mentally to close matches. I have to kind of just shut my eyes and get there.
"Like I keep saying, it's just experience and match play. In the past two years I haven't played a lot of matches. I'm just trying to kind of get that back."
Williams will now prepare herself to partner up with Andy Murray in the doubles on Friday and will meet Julia Goerges in the singles draw the day after.
In contrast to Williams and Kerber, the new world No 1 Ashleigh Barty breezed through her second-round match with a dominant 6-1 6-3 victory over her opponent Alison van Uytvanck.
The Australian remains on the right track to try and to win back-to-back Grand Slams having won the French Open title last month and she treated the fans on Court Two to a fantastic serving display, winning 79 percent of her first serves.
Barty will now play Brit Harriet Dart for a place in the third round. The world No 182 Dart, who was given a wildcard for the Championships, came through a tough battle to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia 7-6 3-6 6-1. The victory marks Dart's best ever run in SW19.
On No 1 Court, the two-time champion Petra Kvitova recovered from a slow start to defeat Kristina Mladenovic 7-5 6-2.
The sixth seed was down a break in the first before getting a stranglehold of the match and in the process sent down 24 winners to her opponent's seven.
The ninth seed Sloane Stephens needed only 54 minutes on court to ensure her progression. She faced Yafan Wang of China, who had never been past the first round previously, and made efficient work of securing the 6-0 6-2 result.
Stephens' reward will be an encounter with the British No 1 Johanna Konta who was equally ruthless in her dismissal of 23-year-old Katerina Siniakova on Centre Court.
Konta's victory was an assured one and based on rock solid serving. She won nearly 80 per cent of points on her first serve and got 76 per cent of her first serves in.
The fourth seed Kiki Bertens came from a set down and faced a match point against her to beat American Taylor Townsend 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
"I thought I was finished, to be honest," Bertens admitted after the match. "But sometimes I'm the lucky one, I guess. I think today that was it.
"But I think it was just a great fight. I think she was playing really well, and so there was not really much I could do. Just keep on fighting, keep on believing that I could do it, and in the end I did it."
