Page 18 - ARUBA TODAY

A18 SPORTS
Wednesday 30 august 2017

Kerber goes from champ to 1st-round loser at rainy U.S. Open

By HOWARD FENDRICH The only men’s matches
AP Tennis Writer completed were at Ashe,
NEW YORK (AP) — The where No. 1 Rafael Nadal
question was rather simple overcame a first-set hic-
after Angelique Kerber be- cup before overpowering
came only the second de- Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 7-6
fending U.S. Open cham- (6), 6-2, 6-2. Nadal’s possi-
pion in the professional era ble semifinal foe and chief
to lose in the first round. rival for the title, Roger Fe-
The surprisingly lopsided derer, was to face 19-year-
6-3, 6-1 loss to 45th-ranked old American Frances Tia-
Naomi Osaka of Japan foe at night. Kerber’s exit
under the closed roof in further thins the women’s
Arthur Ashe Stadium at a bracket, which was miss-
rainy Flushing Meadows ing 23-time major cham-
on Tuesday was former No. pion Serena Williams to
1 Kerber’s latest in a long begin with because she is
list of disappointing perfor- expecting a baby. Three
mances in 2017, so she was of the top seven seeded
asked what she thinks went women were gone before
wrong this season. dinnertime on Day 2, with
She sighed, shrugged her No. 6 Kerber joining Mon-
shoulders and began to day’s losers, No. 2 Simona
answer: “I don’t know.” Halep — beaten by Ma-
Moments later, her eyes ria Sharapova in her first
darting around the room, Grand Slam match since a
she added, “This year is a 15-month doping suspen-
completely different year.” sion — and No. 7 Johanna
Talk about an understate- Konta. While Kerber’s quick
ment. In 2016, Kerber broke departure was stunning in
through to the top of ten- and of itself, that Osaka
nis in a spectacular way. A would be the one to do it
player with only one pre- might not be quite so re-
vious Grand Slam semifi- markable, even if she is just
nal appearance reached 19 and never won before
the first three major title against a top-10 woman.
matches of her career, Osaka is comfortable
winning two of them: She around the grounds at
stunned Serena Williams Flushing Meadows, where
in the Australian Open fi- she has been spending
nal, lost to Williams in the time, and even occasion-
Wimbledon final, and then Rafael Nadal, of Spain, returns a shot from Dusan Lajovic, of Serbia, during the first round of the U.S. ally practicing, since she
Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in New York.
beat Karolina Pliskova in Associated Press was a kid: She was born
the U.S. Open final to rise in Osaka, Japan, so rep-
atop the WTA rankings for she is 6-4, including anoth- ers showed up before noon got past Lara Arruabarre- resents that country, but
the first time. er first-round loss in May at Tuesday and led to the na 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in a match moved to the U.S. when
Her follow-up has been the French Open, where postponements of dozens that started on Court 17 she was 3, has dual citizen-
quite a flop. Kerber, a she became that tourna- of matches. The only court then was moved indoors ship, and used to live on
29-year-old German, ment’s first No. 1 seed to used in the afternoon and at Ashe, and No. 23 Bar- Long Island.
hasn’t won any title of any lose so early. “I know that evening was Ashe, thanks bora Strycova defeated “The site,” Osaka said,
sort this season. She is only I’m strong and I know that to the retractable cover Misaki Doi 6-1, 6-3. Yet an- “feels really familiar to me.”
25-18 overall, 0-9 against I will come back stronger, constructed ahead of last other seeded woman was She nearly upended Keys
opponents ranked in the for sure. I know that I will not year’s tournament. eliminated when No. 28 Le- in the U.S. Open’s third
top 20, and Monday’s loss (be) giving up,” said Kerber, Pliskova, who is seeded sia Tsurenko lost to Yanina round last year, leading 5-1
assured her of falling out of the first defending champi- No. 1, easily advanced by Wickmayer 6-3, 6-1. in the third set before losing
the top 10 for the first time on to lose in the U.S. Open’s beating Magda Linette 6-2, At night in Ashe, No. 15 in a tiebreaker, a collapse
since October 2015. At first round since Svetlana 6-1, French Open cham- Madison Keys was to face on her mind in the latter
Grand Slam tournaments Kuznetsova in 2005. Show- pion Jelena Ostapenko Elise Mertens of Belgium. stages Tuesday.q