Angelique Kerber will play just her second WTA tour match since winning the Australian Open on Saturday, going up against the steadily improving, Denisa Allertova in Indian Wells.
Allertova laid down her credentials with a thumping 6-0 6-1 victory over fellow Czech, Petra Cetkovska on Thursday. The match lasted just 41 (!) minutes and Allertova was very impressive. Cetkovska, sporting strapping on her knee, was playing just her fourth match since a third round appearance at the US Open. This was apparent with Cetkovska struggling for rhythm and in particular on her serve as she produced six double faults. Cetkovska raised her arms in celebration after winning her first game down 0-6 0-5 before promptly shaking her head in disbelief at what was happening. Allertova though, never wavered and served out the match to love.
Kerber arrives in Indian Wells as the number two seed, which is still taking some time to get used to! The German player had a tremendous start to the year, winning the Australian Open, but also reaching the final at the Brisbane International. Since then, her results haven’t matched the lofty heights of Australia; she went 1-1 in Fed Cup action the weekend after Melbourne and then lost her opening match in Doha to Saisai Zheng, 5-7 1-6. It was a match that you would never expect Kerber to lose although in hindsight Zheng’s game doesn’t match up well for Kerber because of the lack of pace she offers. However, it is far too early to make assessments about Kerber’s response to winning the Australian Open and Indian Wells and Miami will provide a much fairer indication.
Head-to-head record: This will be the first time that Kerber and Allertova have played each other on the WTA tour.
Final thoughts: This should be a very interesting match and a real test for Kerber. Allertova is starting to make some consistent, positive strides on the tour and already has enjoyed some big wins, defeating the likes of Simona Halep, Carla Suárez Navarro and Elina Svitolina in the last year. All these players can be loosely linked to Kerber in having more defensively-minded games. I nearly went for the upset in this one, but I feel like that would not be giving enough respect to Kerber. While there is added pressure that Kerber has yet to prove that she can deal with, she’s still a very consistent player who is tough to beat. I think Allertova will come close to the upset, but Kerber will tough out the win.
Prediction: Kerber d. Allertova in 3 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Allertova will win. 2016 has been pretty embarrassing for tennis in general. Women only care about endorsements and social media, the results speak for themselves. All top seeds get worked over every tournament because lower ranked players are more hungry. Look at Keys and Venus tanking today, garbage level of tennis on display unfortunately
LikeLike
I’m quite positive to be honest. Just listend to a bunch of interviews and think she is motivated enough to win it in two. When she was playing Doha I felt like she should have skipped it. But here, it’s different. I know there will be a lot of people marking this as a potential upset match but I can see Angie going very deep into this draw!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kerber may win but value is on Allertova for sure.I hope she is out of her hangover.
LikeLike
I agree that Denisa is playing well but I think Angelique will be too strong this time round. Most likely she knows she’s been underperforming recently and that people are starting to wonder when she’s going to get her groove back, and she’ll be well motivated to show them that she’s still “got it.”
She’ll also be well rested now so should give a solid performance.
Angelique in 2 sets.
LikeLike
Denisa played a very solid match against Cetkovska with the loss of just one game. But, Angie seems to be the one under a lot of pressure, like the defending champion in Halep. Angie seems to always keep her head up high and believe that she can win everything. But after seeing Serena Williams’s clean straight-sets 6-2 6-1 win over Laura Siegemund last night, Angie needs to be careful now. I have seen her fall apart drastically and have a long losing streak after she has won a title, as she does have the tendency to look way too far ahead towards the finish line and will underestimate people very quickly. Considering that Denisa has already scored a top 10 win over Halep last year, I’m thinking that she’ll upset Angie in three sets today.
LikeLike
+300 allertova BOOM. Bye Kerber you scrub. Learn and listen boys.
LikeLike
hahahaha…………such a long hangover for Kerber.Is it like she think she has achieved salvation by winning AO.I doubt she will ever be in any grandslam final ever now.
LikeLike
I can guarantee you she will never sniff another Major. she caught lightning in a bottle when everyone else was in horrible form. fade her rest of the season
LikeLike
Denisa won 7-5, 7-5; I’m taking my crystal ball back to the pound shop, it’s no good!
LikeLiked by 1 person