As in 2016, the Premier Mandatory event in Madrid is not a friendly zone for the WTA top players. Having the second round session in play, the Madrid Mutua Open saw most of the top 10 WTA names being ousted in the early stages. Having to fight such a demolishing trend, Angelique Kerber survived the scare in the second round. She might consider herself being lucky or blessed as her closest rival Karolina Pliskova was upset earlier today by Anastasija Sevastova. But for Kerber things are yet to be solved as she shares the draw with Maria Sharapova who must win over Eugenie Bouchard in order to answer the questions we are all awaiting.
For the world no. 2 things seem to go in the right direction following a lacking-luster period.
Angelique Kerber kept her nerve in a neutral zone in order to edge past Siniakova
As the match was about to start, one thing was for sure- Kerber was the favourite, as well as the winner of their two previous meetings and only an extraordinary performance from Siniakova (37 WTA), could have produced a different outcome. The opening set was all about Kerber who solved the Siniakova riddle by breaking her opponent's serve three times, losing on her own only once.
It was 6-2 and the German was one set away from the third round in Madrid. The 20-year-old Czech player who recently came into the spotlight after her WTA success in Shenzhen had a different side of the story to tell.
She ousted Kerber in the second act, winning it by 6-1 and pushing the encounter into a third set. It was a toe to toe act in its first part with Siniakova disrupting the balance first. At 5-3 in her favor, she failed to serve out the match, allowing Kerber to bounce back into the business. One of the most experienced players on the WTA Tour, Kerber carefully handled the unexpected gift and went on to claim a spot in the next round by sealing the set by 7-5.
Kerber might want to end a long-lasting dryness as she is yet to claim a WTA title this season
Having won over Siniakova, Kerber will regain the no. 1 seat starting from next Monday as Serena won't be able to defend her points. For the time being, the ranking might not be so important as the German is lacking a certain amount of focus to go all the way during a tournament.
In 2017, she has no WTA title to brag about and with the ongoing clay court swing, she might have to wait for a while. On her side of the draw, besides Sharapova, there is Kuznetsova, another clay court specialist. With no points to defend from last year, she should add some space between her spot and the others.
