Stuttgart, Barcelona: Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber picked up her second title of 2016 with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over qualifier Laura Siegemund in Sunday’s final of the WTA claycourt tournament in Stuttgart.
“It’s amazing to be able to defend my title here - there is nothing better,” beamed Kerber.
“I needed a bit of time to find my rhythm, so I was glad I was eventually able to stop her.”
In an all-German final, Kerber claimed her first win since her Melbourne triumph in January with an impressive display against Siegemund, who had beaten seeds Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska, all ranked in the world’s top ten.
Having not dropped a set en route, this was Siegemund’s debut in a WTA final and Kerber’s first since the Australian Open as she defended her Stuttgart title.
Kerber, the world number three, got off to a false start when she found herself 3-0 down in the tight first set, before fighting her way back.
She then raced into a 2-0 lead in the second as Siegemund had to briefly receive treatment.
Kerber then dominated the 28-year-old Siegemund, who will shoot up the world rankings from 71 to 42 on the back of her performances in Stuttgart, and kept finding her shots on the baseline to quickly race to a 4-0 lead.
Having broken Siegemund to go 5-0 up, Kerber used her first championship ball to seal the win which again includes the prize of a luxury sports car.
In Barcelona, top two seeds Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori set up a title-clash at the Barcelona Open on Sunday after comfortably easing past Philipp Kohlschreiber and Benoit Paire respectively in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Nadal continued his perfect start to the European clay-court season having won the Monte Carlo Masters last week with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Kohlschreiber.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion is now just one win away from matching Argentine legend Guillermo Vilas’s record of 49 clay-court titles.
Neither Nadal or Nishikori have even dropped a set in the Catalan capital this week and Nadal is expecting a stiff test if he is to win a ninth title in Barcelona.
“It will be a very difficult match against one of the best players in the world without doubt,” he told Spanish TV station Teledeporte.
“I have to be prepared and give my best.”
Nadal needed just one break to take the first set, but had to be patient in the second as he fended off a break point before winning the final four games of the match to seal his place in the final.
“Of my last six matches perhaps it was the one where I had least rhythm,” added Nadal. “I missed a lot more on my backhand, but I overcame that well and (am) very happy to be in the final again.”
