German Angelique Kerber survived her toughest test yet in Melbourne after No.90 ranked Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei, who’s more known for her success in doubles, put on a show on Rod Laver Arena. Hsieh’s unique style of play frustrated Kerber early on, but to Kerber’s credit, she was able to hang in there and advance to the quarterfinals with a 4-6 7-5 6-2 win.
The 2016 Australian Open champion, who’s known for her never-say-die attitude on the court, looked vulnerable early on in the match after Hsieh’s unique angles, slices, and drop shots all found the court. After losing the first set 6-4, the second set was neck and neck before Kerber broke to take a 5-4 lead. After dropping serve at 5-4 Kerber immediately broke right back and served out the second set comfortably to win 7-5.
You had to figure that Kerber’s experience would play a big part in the third set. The two exchanged breaks in the first three games of the third set before Kerber eventually ran away with the set winning 6-2.
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Angelique Kerber faces Madison Keys for a spot in the semi-finals
Up next for Kerber is American Madison Keys. It’ll be interesting to see how Kerber plays against the American. Keys is known for her powerful style of play which is the complete opposite of Hsieh. Kerber holds a 6-1 lead in the H2H against Keys including five wins on hard courts. One of those meetings took place at the 2013 Australian Open where Kerber won 6-2 7-5.
After a disappointing 2017 season, Angelique Kerber looks like she’s returning to the form that helped her win the Australian Open and US Open in 2016. The determination, and fight that we were accustomed to seeing from her looks like it’s back which should put everyone else on alert that she’s a serious contender to win the third major of her career.
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