Catherine Bellis got her moment on center court at the US Open but not a win Friday night. The 17 year old stood no chance against second-seeded Angelique Kerber who rank the match wire to wire in a 6-1, 6-1 straight sets match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was the 50th win for the world number two this season and a move into the fourth round this weekend.
The German got a primetime match up for her third round against an American star who has shown plenty of fight since qualifications last weekend. The 17-year-old in her second appearance has shown her strength surpassing her second round finish in 2014. Going in against Kerber was definitely her biggest challenge since facing Serena Williams at Miami last season. While she didn’t put up much of a fight in that loss, going in against the world number two still gives her a shot at changing the tide if her game allowed her to do so.
The power of the German didn’t give in to start the opening set as Kerber through games to gain a hold of the set. She carried a three game winning streak on Bellis’s second time on service but somehow the American used everything in her arsenal of shots to hold off the top ranked German and win a game.
The cheers from the crowd for American were quickly silenced with Kerber regain her consistency to cruise to a 5-1 score. It was the seventh game where the 17-year-old put up a huge defense against Kerber on serve for the set to make her earn it. It became the longest game of the match with five breaks being recorded before she could lock down the set.
It took 31 minutes for the world number two to get to the halfway point on a 70 percent first serve notching nine winners and more unforced errors than her opponent. With the mistakes make little impact on the score, showing improvement was all Kerber needed to do on the night.
She pushed for excellence going into second taking another 3-0 run on the youngster who was clearly frustrated at not being able to play at the same degree. Kerber remained at a pace much too high for Bellis adding different shots on the rallies as well as her impeccable response on the returns. In a flash, Kerber got to 5-0 seeking to get the bagel and put a cap on her night on the court.
She served up shots across court but the teen fought to get some points that energized the crowd. In a strong response, she broke the German getting another victory on the board. When it was time to return to service, she broke apart putting too much speed on the ball during the rallies. Her final shot in the match fell far beyond the baseline sending groans through the stadium and a smile from Kerber.
“I was trying to play my game,” Kerber said to ESPN’s Mary Jo Fernandez. “I think I played a really good match tonight. I know it is to play here for the first time.” Since then she has become a dangerous player with much success in recent years. Kerber leads the WTA this season in match wins with 32 of those coming on the hard court.
A strong match would face her in the coming days taking on Petra Kvitova back at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center on Sunday. “I’m looking forward to this challenge against Kvitova,” she said. “We’ve had great matches in the past and now I’ll try to go out there and win the match.”
Photo by: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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