The defending champion and the World No. 2 Angelique Kerber will start her 2019 campaign in Sydney against the Italian Camila Giorgi on Tuesday evening.
Watch & bet on Angelique Kerber v Camila Giorgi live in the WTA Sydney International with bet365 here* on Tuesday, January 8. The Kerber v Giorgi match will begin around 7:00 pm local time (9:00 am BST).
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*Geo-restrictions apply & pre-funded account needed
Kerber’s Return to Top
The German No. 1 struggled greatly with her form in 2017 and as a result, she fell out of the top 20. 2018, however, marked a season of resurgence for Kerber. She began the season as the World No. 22 and moved on to finish at the No. 2 position.
For most of the year, she was highly consistent and backed her performance with regular runs to the penultimate rounds in the tournaments she played in. She started her year in Sydney where she won the title and the very next week, she reached the semifinal at the Australian Open.
In the next four events she played in – Doha, Dubai, the Indian Wells, and Miami Masters, she made it to the quarterfinals and beyond. Even though she didn’t win a title, she did enough to break into the top 10.
After similar runs on clay, she had a breakthrough at the Wimbledon. She won her third Grand Slam at the SW19 after defeating Serena Williams in the final. However, towards the end of the season, her form dwindled a bit as she failed to move past the third round after Wimbledon.
Giorgi’s Career-Best Run
The Italian too had a season similar to that of Kerber’s. Over the course of the year, she reached her career-high singles ranking as the World No. 26. This is definitely a remarkable achievement, given that she started the season as the World No. 80.
She had a sensational run in Sydney last year where she started as a qualifier and moved all the way to the semifinal where she lost to none other than Kerber. Later that year, she reached the semifinal at Prague and quarterfinal at the Wimbledon.
Her sole title of the season came in Linz, where she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final to win the tournament.
As for her performance in the ongoing WTA Sydney International, she started her run against the Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. Giorgi defeated her adversary 6-3, 6-3.
Kerber v Giorgi Head to Head
It is interesting to note that two of their only three encounters so far have taken place in Australia. Kerber has won on all three occasions and presently leads by 3-0 over Giorgi.
Considering that their last encounter has taken place in Sydney last year, it will be interesting to see how this match turns out to be. Kerber will start this game as the favorite.
You can watch & bet on Angelique Kerber v Camila Giorgi live in the WTA Sydney International with bet365 here* on Tuesday, January 8.
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