SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL
Kerber falls to Russian teenager
An error-prone Kerber struggled to reproduce the form that led her to a first Grand Slam triumph at Melbourne Park in 2015 and came unstuck against the 19-year-old Kasatkina
Angelique Kerber’s build-up for next week’s Australian Open suffered a setback when the world No1 was beaten 7-6(5) 6-2 by Russian teenager Daria Kasatkina in the second round of the Sydney International on Tuesday. An error-prone Kerber struggled to reproduce the form that led her to a first Grand Slam triumph at Melbourne Park in 2015 and came unstuck against the 19-year-old Kasatkina. "The first matches of the year are always tough and I still don’t feel my rhythm. I made too many mistakes," said Kerber, who also lost in the quarterfinals in Brisbane last week, of her 41 unforced errors. "So it was not so easy, but I will try to forget the match as soon as I can. It’s the second tournament of the year. We still have a [long way] to go, so I will not [make] a big [deal] of that match." Kasatkina kept her nerve when it mattered most and fought off three break points in the sixth game of the second set while leading 3-2 with a break. From there she did not have to look back. "It’s d...
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