Kerber seals final Istanbul spot

 

Originally published on: 16/10/13 00:00

A late season surge saw the German boost her chances of qualifying, and she justified her decision to take a late wildcard at the Generali Ladies Linz as she lifted first trophy of the season with victory over Ana Ivanovic in the final.

Following a disappointing summer, including a second-round exit at Wimbledon and defeat in the fourth round at the US Open, Kerber’s hopes of being in Turkey for a second consecutive year looked to be fading.

However consecutive wins over Ana Ivanovic, Agnieszka Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki saw her reach the final in Tokyo, where she was beaten in three sets by Petra Kvitova, helped keep her in the running.

She followed this with a run to the quarter-finals at the China Open to edge closer to qualification before making it over the line – at the expense of the likes of Caroline Wozniacki and Sloane Stephens – in Austria.

"I'm very excited to take the last spot for Istanbul and be there for the second time in a row," Kerber said after sealing the eighth qualifying spot following the withdrawal of the injured Maria Sharapova. "I'm really excited about it and I'm looking forward to playing there. The fans last year were amazing.

"To compete with such great players – the others are all Top 8 – it's a great feeling. I'm happy to have had such a consistent year, and I'm really proud to be ending my year there."

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