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Despite the struggle, Kerber comes up with 2nd round win over Flipkens

By Gale Moorman

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Angelique Kerber of Germany and Kristen Flipkins of Belgium embrace after their Ladies Singles second round match on day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 6, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Angelique Kerber of Germany and Kristen Flipkins of Belgium embrace after their Ladies Singles second round match on day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 6, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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A win is a win as athletes say and it is treasured no matter how you get it. Angelique Kerber learned that at this match.

Despite the struggle, Angelique Kerber comes up with a second round win at Wimbledon. She defeats Kirsten Flipkens in the effort.

"“It wasn’t an easy match and for sure it wasn’t the best tennis I’ve ever played”, Kerber currently the No. 1 player in the world laughingly said.More from Lob and SmashCaroline Wozniacki gets her wild card for the Australian OpenTennis News: Rafael Nadal, Emma Raducanu and protected rankingsMartina Navratilova: Money lost by coming out was in the ‘millions’Tennis News: Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios and Matteo BerrettiniBoris Becker and Rick Macci bicker over Carlos Alcaraz"

It seems like she had just relaxed from winning the opening round over American Irina Falconi, that she’s in the spotlight again and tried her best to win round two. Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens, ranked No. 88, seemed to have the biggest confidence as she easily lead in the first set 5-3. She knew she really had nothing to lose.

But something must have snapped in Kerber’s head and she decided to dig deep to survive this set with a win on her side.

"She knew Kirsten’s capability and said that “Kirsten is always tough to play on grass with the slice. I couldn’t find my rhythm in the first few games. I was fighting for every point and that was the key at the end”."

Kerber became more aggressive and ran off four more games but not without netting a few points here and there. She surprised herself to win the set on the proverbial ‘net cord’ and set one was hers.

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Flipkens played it cool and calm even though the London hot sun was baking everyone watching and playing. She gave a wipe of her tinted glasses and carried on with trying to break up this winning rhythm the German Kerber possessed.

The second set was 3-2 in Kerber’s favor and the score gave her confidence and some poise to go on fighting. She did just that to bring the final set to a 5-3 lead. Flipkens fought back and tried some magic shots, especially a volley, but they went poorly.

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Angelique Kerber was a driven woman and knew she didn’t have far to go. She gave some great winning moves including a lob that Flipkens couldn’t handle. The set and match belonged to Kerber as she won 7-5, 7-5 and moved on to the third round.

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