Defending champion and top seed Angelique Kerber battled her nerves and faltered badly with victory in sight before finally overcoming Lesia Tsurenko 6-2 5-7 6-2 to reach the second round of the Australian Open on Jan. 16.
The 28-year-old German was starting the defense of a grand slam title for the first time and initially struggled with her serve and the accuracy of her groundstrokes on Rod Laver Arena.
