Kerber stunned by hobbling Davis at Wimbledon

Lauren Davis was hampered by three apparent injuries against Angelique Kerber but still dumped the defending Wimbledon champion out.

Published : Jul 04, 2019 22:33 IST

Angelique Kerber toils against Lauren Davis
Angelique Kerber toils against Lauren Davis
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Angelique Kerber toils against Lauren Davis

Angelique Kerber saw her Wimbledon title defence improbably ended in the second round by lucky loser Lauren Davis, who overcame an ankle injury to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday.

Kerber had been in the same section of the draw as Serena Williams and world number one Ashleigh Barty but will not face either star after falling foul of the dangerous diminutive Davis.

The American, already wearing heavy strapping on both her left knee and right shoulder, twisted her left ankle midway through the first set yet remarkably recovered.

Three-time grand slam champion Kerber, by contrast, was completely out of sorts and a break-heavy contest finally went the way of Davis, who plays Carla Suarez Navarro next.

Read: Djokovic-Ivanisevic partnership causes controversy in Serbia

Davis broke the German immediately in the first, creating the opening with the considerable power of her backhand before Kerber prodded into the net.

That backhand was wayward in the following game but, as in Kerber's first-round match, the breaks kept coming until the first hold saw the fifth seed 3-2 in front.

Davis then skidded towards the net as she sought a response and immediately indicated an issue with her ankle, seeing Kerber ruthlessly break twice to close out the set as she attempted to shake off the problem.

A trainer was belatedly called to Davis' aid, adding more tape to her ankle, and she improbably but deservedly broke at the start of the second.

The earlier pattern was repeated as Kerber broke and Davis hit back, with the hobbling right-hander this time getting the breakthrough hold to lead at 3-1, before bravely maintaining her advantage at 4-2.

Another break saw Davis ease into a decider and she accelerated out of sight, drawing sloppy errors from the increasingly frustrated Kerber to break three times with relative ease and seal a sensational win.

 

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Lauren Davis bt Angelique Kerber [5] 2-6 6-2 6-1

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Davis - 45/50
Kerber - 13/31

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Davis - 2/2
Kerber - 0/2

BREAK POINTS WON
Davis - 8/18
Kerber - 5/9

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Davis - 75
Kerber - 68

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Davis - 55/39
Kerber - 48/38

TOTAL POINTS
Davis - 93
Kerber - 81

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