Roberta Vinci goes down meekly as Angelique Kerber advances to third Slam semifinal of season

NEW YORK—The U.S. Open quarterfinal match between Angelique Kerber and Roberta Vinci told two very different tales, and it ended in a total washout, with Kerber winning, 7-5, 6-0.

“I think it’s always difficult to play against Roberta,” the No. 2 seed said. “She’s a great player, and she played so well last year. She came out here to play good tennis. I’m so happy to win it in two sets. To reach, again, the semis, it means a lot to me.”

It’s tough to imagine, but Kerber was a U.S. Open semifinalist just once before, back in 2011. Vinci, the seventh seed, reached the final last year after stunning Serena Williams in the semis.

The match on Tuesday began with a long, six-minute first game, setting the tone for a series of breaks in which neither woman played her best. Vinci and Kerber do not have the most consistent serves, so failing to hold did not seem to faze them at all.

Kerber, the world No. 2, was the obvious favorite on paper. She’s having a career-best year, with a maiden Grand Slam title in Australia and finalist showings at Wimbledon, in Rio and in Cincinnati.

Yet she was the first to crack. At 4-4, she lost her service game at love with four uncharacteristic unforced errors. She would rack up 22 errors in the first set (and just three in the second). Instead of falling apart after that abysmal game, Kerber stayed calm and positive, something she’s visibly worked on over the years.

“I’m trying to improve, of course, my mental side,” Kerber said, “because I know I have to stay focused on my game and being here in this moment—not thinking about what happened. [I’m] just thinking about the positive things … And just trying to stay a little bit relaxed when it’s close, and just go for it when I can.”

Vinci’s performance told a different tale. After battling through the first eight games with her usual gutsy stamina and plethora of backhand slices, she stepped up to serve for the set at 5-4, but faltered. Her strategy of baiting Kerber to make the first move only worked as long as Kerber was missing, and that didn’t last long. On top of Kerber raising her game, Vinci foot-faulted on set point at 5-6 to lose the game at love.

From then on, the Italian was a different player, fading away to hand Kerber the match on a silver platter. Vinci won just five points in the first five games, going down 0-5 quickly. After hitting 13 winners in the first set, she hit just four in the second, and most of those were go-for-broke acts of desperation.

Last year, the 33-year-old pulled off the upset of the year by ending Serena’s quest for a calendar-year Grand Slam. This year, she walks away a respectable quarterfinalist, but with a dreary final set to usher her home.

Meanwhile, Kerber’s still on track to take over the top spot from Williams, which could come down to a final showdown against the 22-time Grand Slam champion. She’s trying to become the first German No. 1 since Steffi Graf. But instead of letting that pressure get to her, Kerber is focused solely on the match in front of her.

“It’s tough to go in [Graf’s] steps,” Kerber said. “She won everything. For me, it’s always important to go my own way.”

Her way is a semifinal encounter against either Caroline Wozniacki and Anastasija Sevastova.