NEW YORK (Reuters) – Former champion Angelique Kerber returned to action for the first time in seven months and beat Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 6-4 on Monday to reach the second round of the U.S. Open.
The 17th-seeded German, who entered the match having not competed since the fourth round of the Australian Open, overcame a shaky start on serve and got better as the 88-minute match at Louis Armstrong Stadium wore on.
Kerber, a three-times Grand Slam champion who triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2016, traded breaks with Tomljanovic through the first four games of the match and then found her footing to take over the match.
The German southpaw converted all three break point chances to pull ahead 5-4 and then went on to serve out at love to grab the first set.
In the second, Kerber settled into a groove and broke her opponent twice before sealing the win on her third match point when a Tomljanovic forehand sailed long.
The U.S. Open is the first Grand Slam to be contested since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown global tennis in March.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
