Kerber overcomes Jakupovic in topsy-turvy Dubai second round

3m read 19 Feb 2019 6y ago
Angelique Kerber (Getty)

DUBAI, UAE -- No.5 seed Angelique Kerber needed to pull off a razor-thin first-set escape before she defeated Slovenian lucky loser Dalila Jakupovic

View Profile , 7-6(4), 6-3, to advance to the third round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.

World No.7 Kerber rebounded from 1-5 down and two set points in the opening frame before moving to the victory after an hour and 33 minutes of play, in the first meeting between the two players. This was Jakupovic’s first-ever match against a Top 10 player.

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"I really don't know what to expect, I never played against [Jakupovic]," Kerber told the press, after the match. "For me it was really tough to find my rhythm, but also find out the way she is playing.

"I'm happy that I turned around the first set. The second set was still close. I think she played really well. I was fighting, especially in the important moments at the beginning of the second set. I'm happy I won the match. The first match, doesn't matter against who you play, for me they're always tough."

Jakupovic finished the match with 32 winners and the same amount of unforced errors, which was a sturdier ratio than Kerber possessed, as the German had 20 winners to 24 miscues. However, Kerber got to the important points more frequently, befitting her greater level of experience. Kerber held 12 break points in the match, converting five, while Jakupovic could only break thrice off of four chances.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Kerber, who has reached the Dubai semifinals in the last two years, will now take on crafty Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16. Hsieh dispatched Aliaksandra Sasnovich

View Profile , 6-1, 6-2, in the second round earlier on Tuesday.

"I think tomorrow is another match, another day," said Kerber. "We start from zero. It's the same like today: I have to play and focus more on the game I will play, not too much on the opponent. I hope that I can learn from this match, taking the rhythm that I had in the second set for my next one."

It was all Jakupovic in the early stages of the match, as the Slovene used aggressive pinpoint groundstrokes to frustrate Kerber. The German dropped serve in the first game of the match, and Jakupovic started to steamroll from there, breaking Kerber for a second time to lead 4-1, after the German double faulted down break point.

Jakupovic held for 5-1 with an ace on game point, supplementing her blistering groundstrokes with strong serves. However, the Slovene started to show cracks while serving for the set at 5-2, hitting errors more frequently, while Kerber showed her class by grasping one break back with consecutive winners.

Kerber gained confidence from there, holding for 5-4 with a forehand winner down the line on game point, then breaking Jakupovic once more to get back on serve at 5-5, after the Slovene double faulted on break point.

It seemed as if all of Kerber’s hard work would be lost when she dropped serve at love in the following game, ending with back-to-back double faults. But serving for the set for a third time, Jakupovic once more could not consolidate her lead, squandering two set points as Kerber fought through to the tiebreak.

The tiebreak was closely contested up to 4-4, when Kerber blasted a forehand winner to take the 5-4 lead. With two serves to come, Jakupovic was still in the set with a chance, but on both of those points, the Slovene hit unforced errors, allowing Kerber to complete a tremendous comeback and clinch a one-set lead.

After what was surely a disheartening turn of events for the lucky loser, Jakupovic did well to fend off three break points in her first two service games of the second set and stay with the former World No.1 through 3-3. But Kerber finally took command of the match for good at that juncture, breaking the Slovene in a lengthy game to lead 4-3.

Two games later, Jakupovic found herself in a dire position on serve again, as a clutch of errors put her behind 0-40, thereby giving Kerber triple match point. Kerber netted a service return to lose her first opportunity, but a Jakupovic forehand flew wide on the second match point to send Kerber into the round of 16 and a date with Hsieh Su-wei.