Kanepi defeats former world number-one at Australian Open

Kaia Kanepi and others on court at the Haabneeme ITF tennis tournament.
Kaia Kanepi and others on court at the Haabneeme ITF tennis tournament. Source: Siim Lõvi/ERR

Tennis player Kaia Kanepi started her Australian Open journey with a 6:4, 6:3 victory over former world top-rank Angelique Kerber, joining Anett Kontaveit in the second round of the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

The Estonian took a 4:1 lead in the opening set, but allowed the German to equalize the set, after which Kanepi was able to win two consecutive games to take the first set 6:4.

Kanepi, the former world 15-rank, and Kerber, the former world top-rank, got off to a competitive second set and were equal at 3:3, after which the Estonian went on a run to finish the match with a 6:3 set victory.

Kanepi served up four aces to Kerber's zero and committed one double fault, the German had three. The Estonian also converted four of nine break points and won on 60 percent of her second serves to Kerber's 28 percent.

"I felt pretty good on the court and it was quite comfortable. I felt I played well and had good feeling. Everything also worked tactically," Kanepi told reporters after the match, but she did not want to specify the details of her gameplan.

She said she heard some Estonian fans in the stands and that might have been what caused her to have such a great win.

The 36-year old Kanepi will face 23-year old Czech player Marie Bouzkova in the second round of the Australian Open. The players met on two occasions in 2020, both winning one match.

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Editor: Kristjan Kallaste

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