World number two Angelique Kerber edged past Camila Giorgi of Italy in their closely-contested opening match of the ongoing Sydney International tournament here at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old registered a 7-6(3), 6-2 win over her Italian opponent to advance further in the tournament.
With a better first serve percentage in the opening set, Giorgi cracked 22 winning points taking a 3-1 lead in the first set. Making a smashing comeback, Kerber whacked four consecutive backhand shots and nullified the advantage of the Italian player.
As the set headed towards a tie-breaker, Kerber began to strengthen her grip on the match. Her experience came to fore in the match as she defeated Giorgi 5-0 in the tie-break round to clinch the first set 7-6 (3).
The second set saw the German player not breaking much sweat as she registered an easy 6-2 win. The Italian player took an initial lead of two pints but once Kerber's firing forehand came into play, the German player snatched the lead and asserted her status with some aggressive shots.
Sydney International tournament, which started on January 4, will conclude on January 12.
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