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Angelique Kerber reached the quarter-finals in New York with a straight sets win over Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic. Photo: EPA
SportTennis

Angelique Kerber reaches US Open quarter-finals as she closes in on world number one spot

German wins a battle of grand slam champions as she powers her way into the last eight of the US Open

US Open (tennis)
Reuters
Reuters
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Angelique Kerber won a battle of grand slam champions when the second seed powered her way into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Petra Kvitova.

By reaching the last eight Kerber has put herself in position to end Serena Williams’ long reign as world number one.
Kerber now has a good chance of knocking Serena Williams off the No 1 spot in the world rankings. Photo: AP

Williams, bidding for a record seventh US Open title, will now need to reach the final to have a chance of retaining top spot.

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The fourth-round match had a definite grand slam pedigree to it with Kerber, the Australian Open champion, going against twice Wimbledon champion Kvitova but failed to deliver any major excitement.
Kvitova failed to muster anything in what was being dubbed as a potential match of the Championship so far. Photo: AP
To be fair, Kerber and 14th-seeded Kvitova were handed a tough act to follow with the capacity Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd left buzzing about Frenchman Lucas Pouille’s upset win over Rafa Nadal in a five-set thriller that had an hour earlier closed out the day session.
Kerber was in command from the start, winning all the big points on way to taking the opening set.
Kerber shakes hands with Kvitova after sealing her passage to the last eight of the US Open. Photo: EPA

Kvitova, the Rio Olympic bronze medallist, offered more resistance in the second before meekly surrendering with a double fault on match point to gift Kerber a place in the quarter-finals.

Kerber’s victory set up an intriguing last eight clash with Italy’s Roberta Vinci, last year’s surprise runner-up advancing with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.

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