TENNIS US OPEN – Angelique Kerber needed two intense hours of battling for every ball in order to survive Ksenia Pervak in the first round of the US Open, that she won 6-2 3-6 7-5. Giulio Gasparin
For the German, it looked like a routine day after the first set, when she only got some troubles behind her serve, but she looked in full control.
Despite the only previous match between the two had been won by Pervak in 2011, the sixth seed was the clear favourite heading to this match, especially given that both players have a similar style, for which the German is known as one of the finest on tour.
However, the Russian found a brave reaction in the second set, when she started with the first hold of her match, which was immediately followed by two more games.
Kerber started to fall too passive and, whenever she had a chance to reopen the set, the Moscow-born found great solutions, especially with the forehand down the line.
With that shot she saved many of the break points given in her last service games and finally closed the second set.
In the decider, both players hold their serves early in the set, but it seemed as if Pervak had quite some margin, being the most aggressive and yet solid of the two. She was indeed the first one to find a break in the seventh game, but as expected the sixth seed did not give up and with courage broke back at the third chance.
At 5-5, it was the Russian to find once again the most courageous solutions to give herself break points, but a few crucial errors let Kerber stay afloat and finally hold.
With all the pressure on her serve now, Pervak failed to keep up her consistent hitting just when she most needed it and, with big a forehand return and connected scream, Kerber broke her to love and earned the ticket for the second round.
