Kerber quietly moves through Charleston draw

Photo by Daniel Ward

Angelique Kerber, the 5th seed in Charleston, is practically the invisible woman. She came dangerously close to going out in her opening round, when she was down a set and a third-set break against Evgeniya Rodina. But the German star survived Rodina, and today, she made short work of Lara Arruabarrena, beating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-0. Arruabarrena caused a stir yesterday when she upset 9th seed and former Charleston champion Sam Stosur.

Kerber's profile has been low all week as names like Petkovic and Jankovic and Keys have swirled around the atmosphere. In the next round, Kerber will face Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu. Begu received a walkover in the second round when 2nd seed Ekaterina Makarova withdrew from the tournament because of illness. Begu upset Kerber in the first round of this year's Australian Open.

Photo by Daniel Ward

Kerber wasn't the only top player to go out in the first round of the 2015 Australian Open. Charleston defending champion Andrea Petkovic did, too, and today, she defeated the woman who upset her in Melbourne. The 3rd-seeded German beat Madison Brengle 6-4, 6-4. Petko was a bit out of sorts during part of the match and had trouble closing it. She said later that she was very tired and the humidity got to her, but that she's used to having one day, early on, in which "tiredness accumulates" in her body, and then she recovers by the next day.

Photo by Daniel Ward

There has been some illness at the Cup, starting with the withdrawal of Ekaterina Makarova because of a gastrointestinal illness. Jana Cepelova looked ill on court yesterday, and had to have her blood pressure checked; she also experienced some bad cramping. Earlier today, Mona Barthel retired because of illness.

And now for the really bad news: Jelena Jankovic just withdrew from the event because of a right foot injury. She was scheduled to play her protege, Danka Kovinic, tonight, and she was on a course to play friend and fellow former FCC champion Petkovic in the quarterfinals.

While all this was going on, Madison Keys efficiently removed Andreea Mitu from the tournament, beating her 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour. Also victorious was 4th seed Sara Errani, who defeated qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.