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Angelique Kerber commences her French Open campaign against Kiki Bertens, looking to win her second grand slam for 2016. Join The Roar for live scores from 7pm (AEST).
Kerber has struggled since Charleston six weeks ago, in what was her first clay tournament since last year’s French Open, where she was bundled out in the third round.
The third seed German is in with a shot at the coveted world No.1 ranking, however, after first-round defeats to Barbora Strycova and Eugenie Bouchard at the Madrid and Rome Masters respectively, it’s an uphill battle.
Since starting the year with an epic win at Melbourne Park, Kerber has won seven of her last ten matches, boosted by a tournament win at Stuttgart where she defeated world No.39 Laura Siegemund in the final. However, her recent win-loss record doesn’t tell the whole story, with the German being required to do a lot more than just show up against Bertens if she hopes to go far at Roland Garros and knock Serena Williams off her perch.
Unlike Kerber, Bertens excels on clay, with the Dutch 24-year-old enjoying a tournament win last week at Nuremberg as a qualifier, defeating Mariana Duque-Marino in the final 6-2, 6-2.
Bertens has made a strong run in the lead-up to the French Open with a semi-final berth at Marrakech, two wins in the Netherlands’ unsuccessful Fed Cup World Group semi-final against France, and winning nine of her last ten overall.
Kerber and Bertens have faced off just once, Kiki Bertens retiring in a meeting at Miami Masters earlier this year. Kerber went on to reach the semi-finals before losing to eventual winner Victoria Azarenka.
The winner will progress to take on either Camila Giorgi or wildcard Alize Lim.
Prediction
Kerber has a battle on her hands, but will come away with a win.
Kerber in three sets.
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