News : Angelique Kerber loses in Wimbledon: Out quickly – sports

In the end, Angelique Kerber did not move from the place when the opponent served. She stood paralyzed at the baseline and saw a ball flying past her. A short time later she walked to the net, gave the contractor Lauren Davis a short hand and was then swift pace escaped from the stadium. Her opponent had broken from Cleveland much earlier.

Angelique Kerber, 31, the defending champion at Wimbledon, failed on Thursday in the second round at the All England Club, 6-2, 2-6, 1-6. When she appeared red-eyed at the press conference almost two hours later, she could only cite the reason: "Unfortunately, I did not have the energy," said Kerber. "It was not my day at all, I did not play well from the beginning, of course I'm disappointed, but I have to learn from it and try to forget it as soon as possible."

The curious thing about this defeat was the fact that Kerber lost to a rival, who already appeared in the first set as if she could not walk one step more. Lauren Davis, 25, was bandaged as if she had recently jumped from a stretcher, against the advice of her doctors: on the shoulder of her whipping arm was a large plaster, her right leg was covered with bandages from top to bottom wrapped. Then she slipped in the first set at the score of 2: 2 still and was also the foot connect.

But if Davis bothered the injuries, it was only in the first set she lost 2-6. Thereafter, the only 1.57-meter-tall American dictated the pace in the game and hit in spite of the short range of the three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber massive backhand balls around the ears.

For Angelique Kerber, who returns with high expectations, was at the site of her greatest triumph in the All England Club, which enjoyed the obeisances and reveled in happy memories in recent days, this defeat is bitter for a variety of reasons. She had just kicked the green carpet after the unseasonable running of the clay court season. She loves the game on grass and had even met her own high expectations in the test tournaments: first in Mallorca, where she was defeated only in the semi-finals in three sets against Belinda Bencic from Switzerland. Then in Eastbourne on the English south coast, where she reached the final against Karolina Pliskova last Saturday. Already there she did not seem to find the right remedy for the hard baseline blows of her opponent.

In any case, it is contrary to their game understanding to dictate an opponent's own tactics. Kerber feels most comfortable in the role of the defender. She had guessed early on that the task would be tricky against Davis: "I'll have to play the game there," she mused in advance. But Davis is not one of the fearsome greats in her profession. It is currently number 95 in the world and even slipped to 252 at the end of the year. Her last victory against a rival of Kerber's caliber was two years ago.

What Davis was missing, however, when she faced the Wimbledon champion, was a healthy self-confidence. Although she had already failed in the qualifying rounds and only slipped over the "Lucky Loser" rule in the main draw because a counterparty canceled. "But I always believe in one hundred percent of me," she said after the most spectacular victory of her career. "I said to myself, here's the place I belong."

The power of this self-suggestion could be seen by the audience on Court Number 2 in the second movement. Kerber was 2: 3 back, she earned a break ball, she forgave, then a second. Six times this game was over debut, Davis repeatedly kicked unreachable backhand balls past Kerber. When the outsider from Cleveland finally scored the point to 2: 4, it became clear that Kerbers resistance was broken. Then the favorite was again the serve from, then the sentence was lost. Kerber took a break, left the pitch, but even when she came back, only one game left in the third.

After the early retirement of Alexander Zverev, the second great hope in German tennis has been dashed. Until further notice, only Julia Görges and Jan-Lennard Struff are guests in the All England Club. Görges, No. 17 in the world rankings, completed her compulsory task against the Russian qualifier with the help of ten aces, won 6: 1, 6: 4 and now faces Serena Williams. Struff defeated Taylor Fritz from the USA 6: 4, 6: 3, 5: 7, 7: 6 and proved again his meanwhile remarkable consistency in Grand Slam tournaments. "In the first two sentences," he said, "it was just a good match from me."

Angelique Kerber could not say that. She wants to take some rest now. And then begin the preparation for the US Open.