Tennis: 'Tired' Aussie champion Kerber levels Fed Cup tie
Kerber, ranked second in the world, ran out a 6-1, 6-3 winner to make it 1-1 in the rubber.
BERLIN (AFP) - Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber got Germany’s Fed Cup World Group first-round match against Switzerland back on track with a straight sets win over Timea Bacsinszky on Saturday.
Kerber, ranked second in the world, ran out a 6-1, 6-3 winner to make it 1-1 in the rubber in Leipzig, in her first match since beating Serena Williams last weekend to claim her maiden Grand Slam title.
The 28-year-old admitted she was still feeling the effects of her Melbourne triumph after an endless round of media interviews on her triumphant return.
"I felt the tiredness in the second set, but the spectators here helped carry me through," she said after needing 74 minutes to see off Bacsinszky, ranked 15th in the world.
Germany’s team captain Barbara Rittner said she was delighted with Kerber’s form.
"That is the result we expected," said Rittner. "I take my hat off to her, she did really well, even if her energy levels dropped a bit at the end."
The Swiss had taken an early lead in the tie when 18-year-old Belinda Bencic, the world number 11, swept past Andrea Petkovic, 6-3, 6-4.
There are three more rubbers to come on Sunday when Kerber plays Bencic and Petkovic faces Bacsinszky before the doubles rubber when Martina Hingis will play for the Swiss.
