Kerber wins on her 25th birthday to reach 4th round at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia - Angelique Kerber held her breath during some nervous moments before fending off American teenager Madison Keys in the third round of the Australian Open, then got to blow out the candles on a cake to celebrate her 25th birthday.
Fifth-seeded Kerber won 6-2, 7-5 on Friday to move into the fourth round, further than she's ever gone in six trips to the Australian Open.
Local organizers brought Kerber a cake onto court immediately after the match and the crowd at Rod Laver Arena sang "Happy Birthday." She blew out the candles and said thank you.
"Madison is a great young player and it was very tough," said Kerber, a semifinalist last year at Wimbledon. "So happy I won today on my birthday!"
The 17-year-old Keys was playing in the main draw for only the second time at the Australia Open.
Fourth-seeded Angieszka Radwanska, meanwhile, won her 12th match in a row with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Britain's Heather Watson on the second of the show courts at Melbourne Park.
Radwanska won tournaments in Auckland and Sydney before coming to Melbourne.
"I'm extremely happy to be playing my best tennis from the beginning of the year," Radwanska said. "Hopefully I'll play on the same level the rest of the tournament."
After soaring to 41 Celsius (106F) on day four, the temperature dropped into the low 20s (mid-70s) on Friday, and light rain briefly interrupted play on some courts.
Novak Djokovic was aiming to extend his winning streak at the Australian Open to 17 matches when he takes on No. 31 Radek Stepanek later Friday in the third round. Djokovic is aiming to be the first man in the Open era to win three consecutive Australian titles.
Roger Federer has won four Australian titles among his 17 majors, and is ordinarily one of the most popular athletes in Australia.
The only problem is this: His 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Nikolay Davydenko on Thursday night set Federer on course for a third-round match against Bernard Tomic, the last remaining Australian in the men's or women's draws.
The 20-year-old Tomic beat German qualifier Daniel Brands 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (8) in the last afternoon match on the centre court at Melbourne Park, keeping his cool on a long, searing day.
Federer praised Tomic's play for the crowd, and later said he won't mind for whom or how loud fans are cheering Saturday.
"I don't think it matters whether he's the last Australian or 10 more," Federer said. "There's always excitement about Aussies playing here. I played him here last year. The crowd was great. I expect something similar. If it's not, if it's totally for him, that's fine, too. I'm always excited when the crowd gets into it."
