After a hard-fought battle lasting two hours and 22 minutes, 2016 US Open Women’s champion Angelique Kerber suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of Kristina Mladenovic.
Mladenovic, currently ranked 54 in the world rankings, took the first set 7-5 after a lengthy one hour and four minutes of play. While the German favorite bit back in the second set, sweeping aside the French underdog 6-0, Mladenovic clawed her way back against all odds to clinch the final set 6-4.
This result has summed up what a tough year it has been for Kerber. Currently ranked 14th in the WTA rankings, Kerber’s best result in a Grand Slam in 2019 was at the Australian Open, where she made it to the Round of 16.
This has been a significant decline since 2018 when Kerber won Wimbledon and made it to the semi-final of the Australian Open as well as the quarter-final of the French Open.
Kerber’s other achievements include Australian Open and US Open wins in 2016, which was the same year that she was crowned as the world’s number one WTA player.
Mladenovic’s career-high ranking of 10 came in October 2017- a feat she will look to replicate as she goes into the second round of the final grand slam of the year at Flushing Meadows.
