Defending champ Kerber out, Serena rallies to reach the third round at Wimbledon
Posted on July 4, 2019 by Marija in Angelique Kerber, Serena Williams, Wimbledon with 0 Comments
The reigning Wimbledon champion has been eliminated in the second round, as fifth seed Angelique Kerber fell to lucky loser Lauren Davis, an American once ranked in the Top 30, who has been rising up the rankings this year, from outside the Top 250 at the start of the season to the current No.95.
The crucial moment in the match was when Davis saved three break points at 3-2 in the second set, not allowing Kerber to level, rather, the American extended the lead to 4-2, then went 5-2 up when Kerber double-faulted on break point and won the last game of the set at love. In the third set Davis lost just one game and triumphed 2-6 6-2 6-1.
The 25-year-old Davis had lost in the third round of qualifying and entered the main draw as a lucky loser. Her next opponent will be seed No.30 Carla Suarez Navarro, who beat Maria Sharapova's conqueror, Pauline Parmentier 7-6(2) 7-6(4).
Just like a zillion times in her career, Serena Williams gave some hope to her opponent in the first part of the match, but then stepped up her game just as much as necessary and beat 18-year-old Kaja Juvan to reach the third round of Wimbledon, with Meghan Markle and husband Alexis Ohanian supporting her from the stands.
The young Slovenian, who had made her tour-level main draw debut at the 2019 French Open, outplayed Williams in the first set, showing courage and good tennis, as opposed to the tennis legend's unstable game. However, the 11th-seeded Williams opened the second set by breaking Juvan and went 2-0 up in eight minutes, confidently marching towards the third set as Juvan was still digesting the fact that she won the first set.
In the decider Williams was dominant again, and even though Juvan spiced up the set by breaking Williams when she was serving for the set at 5-2, the American used her second opportunity and advanced with a 2-6 6-2 6-4 victory.
In the third round, Wimbledon is serving us a rematch of last year's semifinals between Serena Williams and Julia Goerges. Williams won that encounter in straight sets and progressed into the final which she lost to Angelique Kerber.