By Chris Oddo | Saturday January 20, 2018
Angelique Kerber has been running hot since the calendar changed from 2017 to 2018, but Saturday’s command performance against Maria Sharapova may have been her best tennis of the season.
Kerber started fast and finished with a sprint to down the five-time major champion, 6-1, 6-3, and reach the round of 16 at Melbourne for the fifth time in six years. The 2016 champion was all over Sharapova in the opening set, ripping winners, running down balls and playing with the fire that had been missing for so much of 2017.
She struck eight winners and committed just two unforced errors in the first set and forced Sharapova push even harder to match her in the second set.
“I think she played extremely well,” Sharapova said. “She was the more aggressive player. She took a lot more risk than I did.”
Kerber told reporters after the match that she has worked a lot on her serve with new coach Wim Fissette and that stroke paid big dividends throughout the match. Kerber won 25 of 29 first serve points and saved three of four break points over the course of the 64-minute tussle.
The Russian stayed level through six games in the second set but she did not capitalize on her chances. Sharapova hit with authority and looked to be on level footing with the German but she missed a few crucial balls and Kerber rolled through the final three games to clinch her third consecutive win over Sharapova.
“Maria is a champion,” Kerber told reporters. “She's always dangerous, especially at the Grand Slams. You know, I mean, it was the third round. But even, I mean, we both know each other very well. We played so many good matches in the past.”
Kerber improves to 24-9 lifetime at the Australian Open and she’ll face either Agnieszka Radwanska or Hsieh Su-Wei in the round of 16.
No matter who she faces, Kerber will be a threat. Her confidence is high and she has completely turned her game—and attitude—around from last season. She has revamped her serve and re-engaged spiritually. Whatever didn’t kill her in 2017 truly appears to have made her stronger. Prior to tonight she may have seemed a longshot to win this title, but as she heads into week two, she’s looking more contender than pretender, even in a stacked top half of the draw.