Kerber, Mertens dominant to reach 3rd round in Melbourne

As the play in Melbourne was delayed due to rain, players got on the courts a bit later than expected. But that did not seem to be a problem for 17th seeded Angelique Kerber and no. 16 Elise Mertens.

2016 Australian Open champion, Kerber continues in her great run in Melbourne. After an easy first-round victory when she defeated an Italian qualifier Cocciaretto, the German added another two-set win to reach the third round.

Former world number 1 faced Priscilla Hon who was looking to follow up on a first-round victory over Kateryna Kozlova. However, 3-time Grand Slam champion kept a high-level of her game not making too many mistakes. Only 11 unforced errors of the German was one of the keys to the victory. After an hour and 13 minutes, Kerber triumphed 6-3, 6-2 to set up a 3rd round meeting with Kuznetsova or Giorgi.

Another seeded player, Elise Mertens did not experience any struggles during day 4 in Australia. She faced no. 75 in the WTA ranking Heather Watson who defeated Kristyna Pliskova in the first round.

However, Mertens was a too strong opponent for Watson. The Belgian followed up on a great victory over Danka Kovinic. In the first round when she did not need to spend more than an hour on the court. This time, it was less than 60 minutes again for Mertens when she triumphed 6-3, 6-0. 2019 US Open champion in dobules will be wanting to add another victory also over Cici Bellis in the next round. Today, Mertens will also kick-off her doubles campaign in Melbourne when she will be facing Bellis & Vondrousova in the first round match with her partner Aryna Sabalenka.

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