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Angelique Kerber continues her Australian Open title defence when she takes on fellow German Carina Witthöft in the second round. Can the world No.1 march on or will there be a major upset? Join The Roar for live scores from around 12:30pm (AEDT).
World No.1 and reigning Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber has had a tough start to 2017, however she will be hoping to make amends when she comes up against compatriot Carina Witthöft.
After falling to Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets during the final of the WTA Championships, Kerber has only won two from four matches to start the season.
The German kicked off her Aussie Open preparations in Brisbane, pushed to three sets by Australian Ashleigh Barty 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 before falling to Elina Svitolina 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
After an unsuccessful campaign in Brisbane, she ventured south of the Tweed to Sydney where she fell in the second round at the hands of Daria Kasatkina 7-6, 6-2.
Kerber was pushed in the first round of the Open and will be fatigued after a match in warm conditions saw Lesia Tsurenko put up a fight, ultimately going down 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
The world No.1 should have no problems in fighting off Witthöft, however if her opponent can push her to three sets and break serve, Kerber may find it hard to fight back.
Carina Witthöft held off qualifier Eri Hozumi to reach the second round, only the second time she has done so at Melbourne Park, her best performance being the third round in 2015.
Witthöft failed to get out of the qualifying draws at both Brisbane and Sydney in the lead-up to the first grand slam of the year and will be relying on Kerber to make plenty of unforced errors if she is to have a chance at winning.
A win would do wonders for the German who is currently ranked 89th in the world, giving her a huge confidence booster ahead of what could be another tough match-up in the third round.
If Witthöft gets off to a good start and keeps Kerber on the backfoot, it may pay dividends late in the match, especially if the 21-year-old plays to Kerber’s weaknesses.
Kerber and Witthöft have played twice before, Kerber winning on both occasions. Most recently they met in the third round of Wimbledon last year, the score 7-6, 6-1. No meetings between the pair have come on hard court.
The winner will take on either Kristyna Pliskova or 27th seed Irina-Camelia Begu in the third round.
Prediction
Angelique Kerber will continue her title defence with a blowout victory in consecutive sets.
Kerber in straight sets.
Join The Roar for live scores from around 12:30pm (AEDT) following the completion of Stefanie Voegele and Venus Williams and drop a comment in the box below if you’re watching the match.
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