2016 Angelique Kerber tennis season
The 2016 Angelique Kerber tennis season officially began on 5 January with the start of the 2016 Brisbane International. Kerber entered the season as the number 10 ranked player and the defending champion at four tournaments. Year in detail. Australian Open Series. Australian Open. Kerber entered the 2016 Australian Open as the seventh seed. She saved a match point in the second set against Misaki Doi in the first round before defeating her in three sets to advance to the second round. Following this tight encounter, Kerber defeated Alexandra Dulgheru, Madison Brengle, and compatriot Annika  Beck all in comprehensive straight sets to advance to the quarterfinals, her first in Melbourne, where she faced her nemesis Victoria Azarenka, in a rematch of their encounter in Brisbane. With new tactics, Kerber assailed to a lead by two breaks in the first set. Azarenka then fought her way back into the set, but Kerber maintained a one-break lead to close out the set. In the second set, Azarenka resumed her comeback and served for the set twice, but Kerber broke Azarenka both times and had to save four set points in the process too. She ultimately took  the match, thus beating Azarenka for the first time in her career, and advanced to her third career Grand Slam semifinal, the most recent one having come in Wimbledon back in 2012. In the semifinals, Kerber faced the unseeded Johanna Konta and saw off the Briton in straight sets to book a spot in her maiden Grand Slam final, a meeting against world No. 1 and defending champion Serena Williams, who had been in dominant form. There, Kerber surprised Williams in a spectacular match where she was the underdog, and defeated Williams, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, also stopping Williams from equaling  the Open Era record held by Steffi Graf. With the title, Kerber became the first major champion to save a match point in the first round. She was also the first German of any gender to win a major since Graf at the 1999 French Open. Kerber's victory catapulted her ranking to No.2 for the first time in her career. Tournament schedule. Singles schedule. Kerber's 2016 singles tournament schedule is as follows: