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Bitter defeat to say goodbye: tennis player Andrea Petkovic
Photo: ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Tennis player Andrea Petkovic just missed a surprise at the end of her Grand Slam career.
In her last game on the big tennis stage at the US Open in New York, the 34-year-old gave a tough fight to Olympic champion Belinda Bencic (Switzerland).
But she lost 2:6, 6:4, 4:6.
She wanted to "get another one out," Petkovic said after her resignation announcement ("The Last Dance").
But at her 48th and last Grand Slam start, the seven-time WTA tournament winner was too nervous at first.
»When I see her like this: She has a lot of thoughts about the end of her career.
I mean, she thought every second: Oh God, it could all be over in a moment," said national coach Barbara Rittner after the first set at Eurosport.
After that Petkovic found her rhythm and put the favorite in serious trouble.
Even before her first serve, Petkovic had announced her retirement.
The US Open is generally her “last tournament”, but she might add another event in Europe.
The Darmstadt resident justified this decision with the lack of game and training rhythm due to injuries.
Other German professionals eliminated
The versatile Petkovic now wants to "take a break first", "finish a book" by the end of the year and think about "what comes next in my life".
It was "very difficult" for her to finally say goodbye, the former world number ninth admitted.
For the other German professionals, things are not going well at the last Grand Slam of the year.
Laura Siegemund lost to the Romanian Sorana Cirstea 4: 6, 4: 6.
On the opening day, Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria had already lost.
Only Jule Niemeier (Dortmund) still had the chance to prevent a bitter German "zero round" on Tuesday.
In the men's category, Peter Gojowczyk shuffled disappointed from fourth place.
The 33-year-old from Munich was beaten by Danish top talent Holger Rune 2: 6, 4: 6, 6: 7 (5: 7).
Maximilian Marterer (Nuremberg) lost a little later to Marin Cilic, tournament winner from 2014, 3: 6, 2: 6, 5: 7.
Oscar Otte (Cologne) and Daniel Altmaier (Kempen) still have the chance to cause surprises.
The German national coaches Michael Kohlmann and Barbara Rittner had already seen enormously difficult tasks ahead of the German professionals before the start of the tournament, who are missing the figureheads in Alexander Zverev after his injury and in Angelique Kerber because of her baby break.
"The conditions are not good right now," said Kohlmann.
"If things go badly, things look bleak after the first lap," said Rittner.
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