Last year’s Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber was upset by US Coco Vandeweghe by 6-2 6-3 in the fourth round. Kerber expressed her disappointment after the match.
“It was a tough match and of course I am disappointed, but I was not feeling the ball at all tonight. I was not playing good from the first point. It was not my day and not my match”
Kerber had a season start with a lot of ups and downs losing to Elina Svitolina in the quarter final in Brisbane and against Daria Kasatkina in the second round in Sydney before losing in the fourth round in Melbourne against Vandweghe.
“My preparation was like I wanted and everything was fine. I came here to play good tennis, playing round by round, trying to continue my run from last year. This is tennis and you have good days and bad days. Today was not my best day”.
Kerber had dropped two sets in the first two rounds but did not feel unseasy about her tennis. If Serena Williams wins the title. Kerber could lose the World Number 1 spot in the WTA Ranking.
“I am going always with confidence to the matches. It’s the fourth round, so every match is not easy. I am not looking about the rankings of my opponents. I am going out there to play good tennis, trying to play my best. I was trying today, as well, everything. I missed a lot and I made a lot of unforced errors. This was not my game like I play today. Coco had a good day. “
“It was a little bit difficult at the beginning to get used to everything. When the tournament started, I was doing all the things like I did last year. I was trying to do everything simple. I was feeling good. I have a good team around me, the same team like last year. That was not the problem”
Kerber does not think that this defeat will help relieve the pressure she had before the tournament coming in as world number 1. She took the positive from this defeat admitting that she has learned a lot from it.
“I have to think about everything that’s happened in the last few weeks, what I can take to the next tournaments. with all the experience from the tournaments I played here in Australia. I learned a lot and I have new experience. I am looking forward to all the next tournaments that are coming. It was a new challenge for me to be top seed and defending champion. I can learn from all the other stuff which is new for me. It’s just the beginning of the year. I can still improve my tennis. I will try my best to come back stronger”.
