Angelique Kerber got through her second round with a strong show of force against the opposition. The 10th..."/> Angelique Kerber got through her second round with a strong show of force against the opposition. The 10th..."/>
Lob and Smash
Fansided

Kerber holds stance against Pavlyuchenkova in second round win

By Rudy Martinez

facebooktwitterreddit

Angelique Kerber got through her second round with a strong show of force against the opposition. The 10th seeded German defeated Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 on Court 18 at the Wimbledon Championships.

The two have a three year history together where the Russian has the lead in the series four games to three. Kerber won by a huge margin at the Fed Cup against Pavlyuchenkova after taking a hard loss last year in Paris. It’s only been the second time that Kerber has defeated her in straight sets dating back to 2013 in Stuttgart.

The Russian played two straight tiebreakers against Mona Barthel where she held control in the third set to survive the long battle. With her history against Kerber, the right forehanded shot could make the difference on how the German can respond to it.

More from Majors

Pavlyuchenkova showed her the ropes in the first game performing near perfect game. Her net front presence and lobbed shots earned her the love service against the German get out ahead. Kerber responded with two victories in a row where the first was due to errors from the Russian and the second being slightly difficult with Pavlyuchenkova fighting back on every break point. Kerber eventually took it after four breaks indicating a harder match from her opponent.

The difficulty rose a few points as Pavlyuchenkova earned two straight wins of her own taking the 3-2 lead on the German. It became a race to the finish, as both ladies were neck n neck moving to a 5-5 tie. Kerber was first to break forward and played Game 12 on a double set point where Pavlyuchenkova ended the set in 39 minutes hitting the serve out of bounds.

Live Feed

Chelsea vs Wimbledon: 3 things to look out for in EFL Cup opener
Chelsea vs Wimbledon: 3 things to look out for in EFL Cup opener /

The Pride of London

  • You can be sporty like Princess Catherine in these sneakersTea and Banter
  • Emma Watson rewore a dress from her Beauty and the Beast press tour to WimbledonTea and Banter
  • Changing of the guard: Carlos Alcaraz dethrones Novak Djokovic at WimbledonFanSided
  • Marketa Vondrousova’s refreshing Wimbledon win: Injury comeback and history madeFanSided
  • Princess Beatrice channeled her inner Barbie with Wimbledon lookTea and Banter

    • The pace was still in Kerber’s end as she won the opening game of the second on a game point while on serve. She was challenged in the second where Pavlyuchenkova got out to a pair of points evening up. The German increased the power in her end going on a rush through the second set.

    Her success against the Russian put her in a quick spot for the match as she won four straight before the Russian found the power to break her. The lone victory would be the last she’d see at Wimbledon as Kerber put the set in print with a strong finish winning the eighth game by a small margin.

    The match was over in 1 hour and 12 minutes as the solid work by Kerber moved her into the round of 32. Her serve saw a 72 percent success rate on court landing 79 percent of points against the Russian. She maintained just six unforced errors overall while playing great on both sides of the ball winning 88 percent total points.

    The success she has seen through two matches has her moving forward in the Grand Slam as she sets her sights on the winner between Garbine Muguruza and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni Saturday.

    Next: Sharapova dominates second round match

    Home/Majors