Bronzetti topples former champion Kerber in Linz first round
Angelique Kerber's continuing comeback from maternity leave hit a snag when she was beaten by Lucia Bronzetti View Profile in the opening round of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz on Tuesday.
World No.58 Bronzetti of Italy powered to a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory over former World No.1 Kerber of Germany. It took the 25-year-old just 62 minutes to complete the win over three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber and book a spot in the second round.
Bronzetti had previously lost to Kerber in straight sets on the grass of Bad Homburg in 2022 -- one of Kerber's last events before her 18-month absence from tour.
This time around in Linz, Bronzetti kept control, winning 83 percent of points on her first serve. Bronzetti didn't face a break point until Kerber squeaked back on serve at 6-1, 3-2, but the Italian immediately reclaimed her break lead and zipped to the win from there.
Bronzetti lost in the first round in Linz last year, but it was to the eventual champion, Anastasia Potapova View Profile . Later in 2023, the Italian posted some career-best results, winning her first title in Rabat, making another final in Bad Homburg, and hitting her career-high ranking of No.47.
A masterclass 🇮🇹
— wta (@WTA) January 30, 2024
Lucia Bronzetti View Profile makes her way to the round of 16 with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 performance against Kerber.#WTALinz pic.twitter.com/fO0Y89amkr
Kerber was playing in just the third event of her comeback. She has only won one of her seven singles matches so far, but three of those losses were to Top 20 players at the United Cup team event, and another was to former finalist Danielle Collins View Profile at the Australian Open.
Kerber had won the Linz title in her most recent appearance at the tournament, when she beat former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic in the 2013 final. However, in her return to Linz, Kerber was undone by 31 unforced errors, compared to just 12 by Bronzetti.
In the second round, Bronzetti will now take on No.4 seed Elise Mertens View Profile of Belgium in their first meeting. Mertens just won her fourth Grand Slam doubles title on Sunday, when she partnered with Hsieh Su-wei to triumph at the Australian Open.
In other first-round matches on Tuesday, two qualifiers notched wins to book second-round showdowns against the top two seeds.
Highlights: Tauson def. Giorgi | Niemeier def. Blinkova
Clara Tauson View Profile of Denmark defeated Camila Giorgi 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, and she will next meet No.1 seed Jelena Ostapenko View Profile . Jule Niemeier View Profile of Germany ousted Anna Blinkova View Profile 6-3, 6-4, and she will now take on No.2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova View Profile .
