Sydney — Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina put Angelique Kerber’s Australian Open preparations in a spin with a straight-sets upset win over the world No 1 at the Sydney International on Tuesday. The 19-year-old, ranked 26, underlined her huge potential with a confident performance to take out the German, 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 in a second-round match played in sweltering conditions. Only last week Kasatkina held a match point before going down to French Open champion Garbine Muguruza in the second round at the Brisbane International. While she continues her march, Kerber’s form is a concern ahead of next week’s opening Grand Slam of the year, having also lost to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International last week. Kerber, who had a breakthrough 2016, winning two Grand Slams on her way to becoming world No 1, struggled to find any rhythm and her usually strong forehand was astray. Asked about her emotions after her biggest win yet, Kasatkina said...
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