Angelique Kerber survives thriller clash with Sasnovich in Strasbourg

Angelique Kerber is not having the best of years but she was able to squeeze past Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 3-6 6-4.

Clay has never been the best surface for Angelique Kerber and this year is no different. The German is generally having a down year losing quite a few matches against players she generally would beat normally. Today, she nearly lost another one against Sasnovich in Strasbourg but she was able to pull through in three sets-

Kerber opened the match well taking an early break and never letting it go. Sasnovich took a long time to finally start hitting some shots as Kerber absorbed every rally really well. 6-2 was the score in the opening set but things changed in the 2nd set. From the start of the 2nd set, Sasnovich was simply the better player. She was now in rhythm and hitting hard from the baseline.

She jumped out to a 3-1 lead then added another break for 4-1 but gave it right back. Kerber did not pull back the other break and Sasnovich finished off the 2nd with 6-3. The final one featured Kerber nearly blowing it after taking an early 3-1 lead. She had a chance to go up 4-1 but blew it and then lost her serve to make it 3-3. Sasnovich went ahead 4-3 but Kerber was able to refocus and finish it off with 6-4.