In one of the matches that was originally scheduled for Thursday at the Aegon Classic, Angelique Kerber and Daria Gavrilova had to resume their second round match because of the heavy rain. Kerber had dominated the current head-to-head with Daria Gavrilova–winning all four of their previous meetings, all on hard courts. In just one of those matches Gavrilova had managed to clinch a set from the Australian Open champion.
Gavrilova may have experienced virtually no luck against Kerber, but she is renowned for her resilience and tenacity on a tennis court. Her application always provided a certain question mark during her younger years–she had the tendency to lose her concentration frequently when in the heat of the battle–something she’s improved greatly and part of the reason behind her success on the WTA circuit. That improvement has appeared through the commitment of Gavrilova to her tennis and through the work she has conducted with coach Nicole Pratt. She can still have an issue of mentally giving up phases of a match, but overall she should be content with the massive strides she’s made since the injury that kept her off tour for six months at the end of 2013.
One can argue that Angelique Kerber has not dealt with the pressure and expectation very well as she discussed in her press conference earlier this week. But her dogged persistence that’s clear to see on any surface gets her through most matches, just like this encounter with Gavrilova.
Gavrilova started the resumption of play perfectly as she displayed great commitment to the cause and retrieved ball after ball to keep herself in the rally. The Australian would make the most of the 0-30 advantage at 6-5 and took the opportunity with both hands–winning the first set 7-5. The Australian Open champion Kerber reacted the way most champions always do. Several forehand winners from behind the baseline and her ability to make positive outcomes from defensive situations was enough to get her through both Sets 2 and 3 unscathed. The level of Gavrilova definitely decreased, but Kerber remained focus on what was at stake – another grass court match under her belt and more significantly a win that aids her confidence after a very disappointing clay season by her standards.
Angelique Kerber eventually won the contest 5-7 6-2 6-2 and now faces a surprise quarterfinalist later today in Carla Suarez-Navarro. The Spaniard with a one-handed backhand of divine beauty played very well to get a significant win over Andrea Petkovic, to win 7-6 in the third set. Kerber leads the head-to-head 4-2, but Suarez-Navarro prevailed in the most notable of their match ups at the US Open in 2013.
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