Kerber shocks Shahar out of Wimbledon

Israeli tennis player's campaign ends in bitter disappointment.

By ALLON SINAI
Shahar Peer 311 (photo credit: Daniel Maurer/DAPD/AP)
Shahar Peer 311
(photo credit: Daniel Maurer/DAPD/AP)
Shahar Pe’er’s Wimbledon campaign ended in bitter disappointment on Wednesday after she suffered a 3-6, 6-3, 6- 4 defeat to Angelique Kerber of Germany in the second round.
Everything seemed to be in place for Pe’er to move a step closer to reaching the last 16 at the All England Club for the second time in her career. But she played well below par on Wednesday and conceded that she did not deserve to advance to the third round.
“This is really disappointing,” Pe’er told the Jerusalem Post.
“The match was very tight, but I didn’t take my chances and didn’t serve well. You need to find a way to win even when you’re not playing well and I couldn’t do that today.”
13th-seeded Pe’er was far from her best from the outset, but she was the more composed player in the first set and took a significant lead after Kerber (54) sent a return wide.
The Israeli’s poor form would catch up with her in the second set, however, with the German taking a quick 3- 0 lead. Pe’er managed to break back to close within a single game (4-3), only to lose her serve once more moments later and drop the set soon after.
Pe’er’s serving was an issue throughout the match, with the 23-year-old making just 56 percent of her first serves, allowing Kerber to reach 14 break points.
“Every time I broke back I dropped my serve immediately afterwards,” Pe’er said. “It is difficult to come back into the match and then get broken moments later. I got very few free points on my serve. I missed a lot of first serves and that is problematic.”
Ahead of the third set, Pe’er called for the trainer to receive treatment on her right thigh, which had been heavily wrapped since the start of the tournament. However, the momentum was still on Kerber’s side after the lengthy break, with the German breaking in the first game of the third set and holding serve to take a 2-0 advantage.
Pe’er, who showed no ill effects of the injury, broke back to tie the score at 2-2, but yet again couldn’t move into the lead, dropping her serve in the next game.
The Israeli had her chances to break back in the remainder of the set, but she never really found her rhythm and Kerber served out the match.
“This is very frustrating,” Pe’er said. “This is a Grand Slam tournament and I really wanted to do well. I’ve had some pain in my thigh for a few days and I will have it checked. It bothered me a little in the second set, but it was not a problem in the third set and it is not the reason I lost.”
Pe’er will now turn her attention to the doubles tournament where she is playing once more with Monica Niculescu. The Israeli/Romanian duo, seeded No. 14, face Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round.