With a fantastic performance, Angelique Kerber beats Naomi Osaka and is in the second round of the Olympic tournament in Paris.
Paris (SID) Angelique Kerber laughed and threw her arms in the air, hugged Naomi Osaka and said goodbye to the Parisian audience with kisses – but only temporarily: The Kiel native has postponed the end of her great singles career and reached the second round of the Olympic tennis tournament in Paris with a terrific performance.
In the “mothers’ duel”, the 36-year-old Kerber defeated the Japanese Naomi Osaka 7:5, 6:3 and played as well as on her best days.
Deeply relaxed, easy-going and with a lot of wit: Two days after Kerber announced that she wanted to end her professional career at the end of the Summer Games, the former world number one appeared liberated, as if she had cast off a huge burden. “There is a time for everything, and I feel good about it,” she told SID on Wednesday.
That time has not quite come yet, in the singles she will now play against Romanian Jaqueline Adina Cristian – the number 66 in the world is certainly not an unbeatable opponent. And in the doubles Kerber will be competing with her old companion Laura Siegemund.
Kerber had announced that she wanted to fully enjoy her last matches and make the most of them. And she followed this plan against Osaka: the Kiel native was in a playful mood, aggressive, variable, and played one of her best matches since her maternity leave. Osaka seemed somewhat impressed.
She has a lot in common with her opponent Osaka: Both have been mothers of a daughter since 2023, both were world number one, both won Grand Slams – Kerber three, Osaka four.
Both have wonderful Olympic experiences: The German won individual silver in Rio in 2016, the Japanese was allowed to light the flame at the home games in Tokyo in 2021. However, Osaka is ten years younger and still has a lot more in the tank.
Kerber keeps Osaka in check
In the last match of the day on the huge Philippe Chatrier court, which had noticeably emptied after the previous doubles match between Spanish superstars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, Osaka was initially more alert. The 26-year-old, who had brought world number one Iga Swiatek to the brink of defeat at the same venue at the French Open in May, set the pace early on.
But Kerber quickly found the right means, stuck to Osaka, encouraged herself with a hearty “Come on now!” – and won the first set after 39 minutes. In the second set, Kerber kept her opponent in check with concentration, there was no collapse – instead, after just 1:09 hours, the big surprise was complete.
And now it could be that Kerber has finally made her peace with Paris. The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament she has not won, she has never been in the final, never in the semi-final. But it is still a bit early to dream of a fairytale at Roland Garros.
Source: www.sport.de
