Top seed Angelique Kerber has safely navigated her way through the draw at the Miami Open to reach her third quarterfinal of 2017. Standing in the German’s way to a second consecutive semifinal appearance at the tournament is none other than 11th seed Venus Williams, who is also in her third quarterfinal appearance of the season. This match is the headliner of the evening session on Stadium tomorrow.
Lead-up
Top-ranked Kerber’s year so far has been underwhelming in contrast with the hallmark year she had in 2016. Although the German has managed one semifinal (Dubai) and one quarterfinal (Brisbane) showing prior to Miami, her maiden Grand Slam title defence at the Australian Open came to a premature end in the last 16 to eventual semifinalist CoCo Vandeweghe. Moreover, she suffered winless outings in Syndey and Doha, falling to Daria Kasatkina on both occasions.
Coming off a last 16 showing in Indian Wells, having racked up multiple victories there for the first time since 2013, the two-time Grand Slam winner kicked off her journey in Miami by seeing off the likes of big-hitters Duan Ying-Ying and local girl Shelby Rogers in her first two matches, both in straight sets. She then scored her best win of the tournament so far by defeating qualifier Risa Ozaki, dropping just four games to the Japanese player.
2017 has seen former world number one Williams return to a Grand Slam final for the first time in almost eight years at the Australian Open two months ago. Just last week, the American made it to the quarterfinal at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, her first of the tournament since launching her comeback there last year, and her first overall since 2001.
En route to the last eight in Miami, Williams began her campaign in the second round after an opening round bye. There, she beat wildcard Beatriz Haddad Maia and then flew past Romanian Patricia Maria Tig with the loss of just three games to secure her spot in the round of 16. The five-time Wimbledon champion then took down last year’s runner-up, the seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets for her first top 10 win of the year, also her first since 2015, securing her spot in the last eight in the process.
Head-to-head
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Kerber owns a 4-2 advantage over Williams, their last encounter coming in the semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships last year, which the German won en route to making her second Grand Slam final only to be beaten by Williams’ sister, Serena. This clash will be the pair’s second on American soil, Kerber claiming victory in their first such encounter in the fourth round of the 2012 US Open.
In their last meeting on hardcourts, in the round of 16 of Montreal in 2014, eventual runner-up Williams brushed past Kerber in three sets. Their only other match-up on this surface came in 2009, in what was their first meeting, at the Australian Open which the American won in straight sets.
Analysis
Kerber has done a decent job in reaching the last eight in Miami. Although the German has yet to meet a player ranked inside the top 50 here, however, given her underwhelming results off-late, these wins are much needed going into this quarterfinal clash where she faces an opponent of a totally different calibre in Williams. She has yet to show her best tennis in 2017, that took her to two Grand Slam crowns last year, and this upcoming clash will be a good chance for her to do so.
Across the net, Williams, as said, is in much better form and the American seems to be making the most of her recent resurgence as seen in past matches. With one top 10 win for the season already in the bag, she will be hungry for another one when she faces the world number one Kerber. The inspired American stands a good chance of racking in her 15th overall win over a world number one if she keeps up the commendable level of tennis she has been playing so far this year.
This match-up has all-star quality written all over and it will not be a surprise to see it live up to its expectations, a thrilling three-setter. The German should edge this one out, showing Williams who is the world number one, for her first top 20 win of the year, thus keeping her hopes a maiden Premier Mandatory-level title alive.
Prediction: Angelique Kerber in three sets