US Open: Keothavong tumbles out as Kerber is too strong

Published on 29/08/2012 00:00

Great Britain’s Anne Keothavong could offer little resistance as she lost to sixth seed Angelique Kerber in the first round of the US Open.

It was a tough draw for the Londoner against a player who has rocketed up the rankings in the last year and Kerber was far too strong, winning 6-2 6-0.

The German was ranked outside the top 100 last summer before a surprise run to the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows, and she has not looked back, winning two titles this year and reaching the last four at Wimbledon.

Keothavong began brightly, trading well with her opponent off the ground, and she even had a break point in the first game, which Kerber saved.

The British No 2 held serve twice but, once she dropped serve for the first time in the sixth game with a poor drop shot, the floodgates opened.

Kerber did not lose another game, racing through in only 54 minutes. Keothavong, 28, has now lost seven straight matches since reaching the second round of Wimbledon in June.

Venus Williams overcame an early deficit for an easy win. The seven-time Grand Slam champion pulled out of the tournament last year because of an autoimmune disease. But Williams was back yesterday, and she beat fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3, 6-1. Williams, unseeded with a ranking of No 46, was broken in her first game. But after going down 0-2 in the first set, she won 12 of the last 14 games. She will face sixth-seeded 
Angelique Kerber next.

In the men’s event, meanwhile, fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Slovak qualifier Karol Beck in straight sets in their first-round clash. Tsonga won 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 yesterday, rallying from down a break in the third set.

Andy Roddick served 20 aces to defeat 21-year-old American qualifier Rhyne Williams 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Roddick, seeded 20th, won the last 16 points on his serve and finished the match with a 127-mph ace.