Kerber storms into round of 16 at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships

The 30-year-old German will now take on a player who beat Strycova in that 2016 Dubai final - Sara Errani

Showing the intensity that gave her two Grand Slam titles in 2016, Angelique Kerber waltzed into the round of 16 at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
The sixth seeded player from Germany never faced a breakpoint in her opening match against Barbora Strycova - the tenacious player from the Czech Republic who reached the final here in 2016.
Kerber took only 59 minutes to complete that emphatic (6-2 6-1) victory over Strycova on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old German will now take on a player who beat Strycova in that 2016 Dubai final - Sara Errani.
Errani came through the qualifiers this time and she was on top of her game in her 6-4 6-3 win over Ukranian Lesia Tsurenko on Tuesday.
But Kerber could be a bridge too far for Errani.
"I was trying to play my game. I played a good match. I played a solid match," Kerbar said after her victory.
"It's always tough to play against her (Strycova). You never know what's gonna happen. She's always a fighter. But I'm happy to have won the match in two sets."
Such has been the confidence level of Kerber that she is not even looking at her inferior head-to-head record (1-2) against Errani, her next rival in Dubai.
"You know, I'm not looking at who I'm playing. I am trying really to focus on my game. Of course, I know against who I'm playing. But at the end she had great matches here. She played quallies, as well," she said.
"I will just try to play another good match, playing like I played the last weeks. This is more about focusing on my won game, and not against who I'm playing.
"I mean I try to play every single match separate, focusing on every round, of course, going out there to win the matches, playing the way I play in practice.
"And yes, I like to play here in Dubai. I like the weather. It's always nice and sunny." While Kerber's next opponent Errani has continued her dream run, another veteran, Samantha Stosur, couldn't clear the first hurdle after having come through the qualifying rounds.
The former US Open champion lost a tough three-set battle to Estonian Anett Kontaveit 1-6 6-2 6-4.
After having won her three qualifying rounds with ease, Stosur didn't have the gas in the third set against the 22-year-old Kontaveit.
In the first match of the day, American teenager Cici Bellis turned on the style to beat Belgium's Elise Mertens, the Australian Open semifinalist, in straight sets (6-3 6-3).
Now the reward for Bellis, a quarterfinalist in Dubai last year, is a round of 16 clash against two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza.
Meanwhile, Lucky Loser Qiang Wang of China stunned Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-3 6-0.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com
Results
Centre Court
> Singles: Catherina Bellis (USA) beat Elise Mertens (Belgium) 6-3 6-3; Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) beat (Q) Samantha Stosur (Australia) 1-6 6-2 6-4; Angelique Kerber (Germany) (6) beat Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic) 6-2 6-1; Caroline Garcia (France) (5) beat Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 6-3 7-5
Court 1
> Singles: Qiang Wang (China) beat Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 6-3 6-0; Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) beat (Q) Sofya Zhuk (Russia) 6-2 6-2; (Q) Sara Errani (Italy) beat (Q) Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-4 6-3.
Doubles
Latisha Chan (Taipei)/Andrea Sestini Hlavackova (Czech Republic) (2) beat Nadiia Kichenok (Ukraine)/Anastasia Rodionova (Australia) 6-3 6-1
Court 2
> Doubles: Nicole Melichar (USA)/Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) beat Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)/Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 6-2 6-3; Ekaterina Makarova (Russia)/Elena Vesnina (Russia) (1) beat Shuko Aoyama (japan)/Katarina Srebotnik (Slovakia) 6-1 6-2; Alicja Rosolska (Poland)/Abigail Spears (USA) beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia)/Olga Savchuk (Ukraine) 6-2 6-0; Su-Wei Hsieh (Taipei)/Shuai Peng (China) (4) beat Kiki Bertens (Netherlands)/ Demi Schuurs (Netherlands) 6-1 6-0
 
Today's Order of Play
Centre Court
> Singles (2pm): Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) vs Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain)
Elena Vesnina (Russia) vs Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) vs Qiang Wang (China)
> Not Before 7pm: Johanna Konta (Great Britain) vs Daria Kasatkina (Russia)
Catherine Bellis (US) vs Garbine Muguruza (Spain)
Court 1
> Singles: Anett Kontaveit (Estonia) vs (WC) Naomi Osaka (Japan)
Sara Errani (Italy) vs Angelique Kerber (Germany)
Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) vs Caroline Garcia (France)
> Doubles: Su-Wei Hsieh (Taipei)/Shuai Peng (China) vs Nicole Melichar (US)/Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic)
Court 2
> Doubles: Andreja Klepac (Slovakia)/Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez (Spain) vs Hao-Ching Chan (Taipei)/Zhaoxuan Yang (China)
> Not Before 6pm: Ekaterina Makarova (Russia)/Elena Vesnina (Russia) vs Miyu Kato (Japan)/Makoto Ninomiya (Japan)