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Kerber pleased with pre-Wimbledon form


 

Originally published on: 22/06/12 00:00

The 24-year-old German did not play a warm up event for the grass court slam last year and ultimately lost to Britain’s Laura Robson in the first round at the All England Club.

But after beating Elena Vesnina, Chanellle Scheepers and 2010 champion Ekaterina Makarova to set up a last four bout with Klara Zakopalova on the South East coast, the world No.8 says stringing together a few wins on grass has given her a lot of confidence.

“It’s good for me to have one more match of maybe two more matches before Wimbledon and this was my goal here,” she said. “This is my first time here and I’ve enjoyed my stay. Also the courts are very good, so I think it’s the best thing I can do before Wimbledon.”

Kerber has experienced a dramatic upsurge in fortunes over the past year. She entered last year’s US Open ranked No.92 in the world but defied the numbers to progress to her first Grand Slam semi-final. This year, she won her first two WTA titles in Paris and Copenhagen, cracking the top 10 as a result, and backed up her elevated ranking by reaching her first quarter-final at the French Open two weeks ago.

In her four main draw appearances at Wimbledon, Kerber has lost in the first round on three occasions – two of those defeats at the hands of British players. In 2010, she defeated Sania Mirza and world No.15 Shahar Peer to achieve a career-best run to the third round.

Kerber is scheduled to play her semi-final at the Aegon International after the other semi-final between Austria’s Tamira Paszek and defending champion Marion Bartoli.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.