Angelique Kerber has brought the fantastic form she showed at the Australian Open in Melbourne back with her to the Fed Cup in Leipzig. The Porsche Brand Ambassador comfortably won her opening match against the Swiss Timea Bacsinszky 6-1, 6-3 in front of a capacity 4,200 crowd in the exhibition center hall on Saturday. In doing so, she importantly levelled the score for Porsche Team Germany at 1-1 after Andrea Petkovic had previously been defeated 6-3, 6-4 by Belinda Bencic.
“I was enjoying every moment.”
“It wasn’t an easy match after all the excitement over the past few days and the tough time travelling. I’m so relieved to have won,” said Angelique Kerber. “It was a great feeling playing in front of my home crowd after my win in Australia. The spectators created a super atmosphere out there, I was enjoying every moment. I had goose bumps when I went on court and felt the buzz.”
“It was a brilliant performance from Angie,” said team captain Barbara Rittner. “It’s unbelievable how she’s grown in stature over the past two weeks and how she’s dealt with all the pressure on her shoulders. She’s now the number one that one wishes for one’s team.” The victory for the Porsche Brand Ambassador, who faces Belinda Bencic in the vital third singles rubber on Sunday, means the door to the Fed Cup semi-final is still open. “1-1 is a score we can certainly live with,” added Barbara Rittner. “Every- thing is still very much open. We’ll now start from scratch again tomorrow.”
