Two-time grand slam champion Angelique Kerber overcame an erratic start to her third round match against Natalia Vikhlyantseva to prevail 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, at the BNP Paribas Open.
The early day encounter in the Californian desert failed to show the best play of the former world No.1, who hit just 12 winners to 29 unforced errors. Nevertheless, experience proved pivotal in the roller coaster clash as Kerber battled back. Capitalising on a 52 costly mistakes from her opponent.
“It’s not so easy to play against a player you have never played before, but she played well during the first set and also at the beginning of the second.” Kerber said of the world No.112. “I was trying to come back, focus on my game and be aggressive.”
“At the end, I was a little bit nervous. I’m happy to be through into the next round.” She added.
Heading into the match the eighth seed was the overwhelming favourite in her first ever meeting with the 22-year-old Russian. Vikhlyantseva has been ranked as high as 54th in the world, but is currently outside the top 100. Despite the disparity, a rocky opening set from the German saw her win only 10% of her second serves. Enabling the underdog to snatch the opening set to the despair of a visibly frustrated Kerber.
Despite her sluggish start, Kerber soon found her footing in what was a match of two contrasting halves. Vikhlyantseva’s resistance deteriorated and error count increased as the match progressed. To add further to her woes, a right leg issue forced her to take a medical time out during the closing stages of the match. As a consequence Kerber turned her fortunes around by winning 11 out of 13 games to close in on the victory.
Despite Kerber’s resurgence, crossing the finish line wasn’t easy. Leading 5-1 in the decider, four match points came and went. Two games later, she triumphed on her fifth attempt. Doing so with the help of a deep shot that drew an unforced error from across the court.
Kerber is a two-time semi-finalist of the tournament, but hasn’t reached the last four since 2013. Last year she reached the quarter-finals before going out to Daria Kasatkina.
“I think for me to play here, it’s amazing. It is my 11th time and I always enjoy my time.” The 31-year-old reflected about playing in Indian Wells.
In the fourth round, Kerber takes on either Aryna Sabalenka or Lesia Tsurenko.
