Bertens Shocks Vinci In Nürnberg

  • Posted: Jan 01, 1970

NÜRNBERG, Germany – Kiki Bertens dealt a blow to Roberta Vinci’s French Open preparations by triumphing in their second-round meeting at the NÜRNBERGER VERSICHERUNGSCUP on Wednesday.

Early exits in Madrid and Rome meant Vinci arrived in southern Germany short of match practice, and her hopes of playing herself out of this funk were dashed by Bertens in an hour and 20 minutes.

Vinci looked to be sending the contest into a third set, only for the qualifier to batten down the hatches and complete the upset. Bertens’ 6-4, 7-6(4) victory sets up a meeting with Irina Falconi, who fought back to see off No.6 seed Misaki Doi, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

“I’m really happy with the win today, of course. I’m always happy to have a few matches before Paris and I think my level was okay today,” Bertens said.

“I didn’t start [the second set] so good, I was 4-1 down. But then I started to be a little more patient – trying to hit the ball in the court! – and from there be more aggressive, and that worked pretty well today.

There were mixed fortunes for the German contingent, Julia Goerges easing past Yulia Putintseva, 6-4, 6-2, while Varvara Lepchenko ended the hopes of No.5 seed Sabine Lisicki, 6-2, 7-6(5).

“It was a tough one. Obviously Sabine’s the favorite and she’s the home player. And she’s a great player! So I knew she wasn’t going to give me anything for free and I’d really have to fight for it and that’s what I was looking for,” Lepchenko said.

“In the second set I had a lot of opportunities that I let slip. I lost my focus a bit there and I was all over the place a bit there, and once I got back into it, it was more even and I was able to push through.”

In doubles, Annika Beck and Anna-Lena Friedsam warmed up for their singles quarterfinal against one another by teaming up to beat Chan Chin-Wei and Demi Schuurs, 6-0, 6-4.

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