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London - Angelique Kerber made her case to be labelled the new favourite for the Wimbledon title as the German eased into the third round with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday.
Kerber was beaten by Serena Williams in last year's Wimbledon final and with the American star sidelined while she prepares to give birth, the world number one hopes to fill the power vacuum at the All England Club.
After winning the Australian and US Opens last year, Kerber has endured a miserable time in 2017, culminating in an embarrassing French Open first round loss to Ekaterina Makarova last month.
But the 29-year-old's chances of adding the Wimbledon title to her trophy cabinet improved signficantly over the last 24 hours as third seed Karolina Pliskova and two-time champion Petra Kvitova were eliminated.
Kerber hadn't lost to a player ranked outside the top 80 since 2015 and she wore down Belgian world number 88 Flipkens, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist, in a fiercely contested encounter on Court One.
The bookmakers still don't make her the favourite, with that tag now going to Britain's Johanna Konta.
But Kerber, who faces Lucie Safarova or Shelby Rogers for a place in the last 16, is rolling towards the title.
Wimbledon results on Thursday, the fourth day of the 2017 championships at the All England Club (x denotes seeding):
Men
2nd rd
Milos Raonic (CAN x6) bt Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, 7-5
Alexander Zverev (GER x10) bt Francis Tiafoe (USA) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x13) bt Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
Dudi Sela (ISR) bt John Isner (USA x23) 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3
Mischa Zverev (GER x27) bt Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) 6-1, 6-2, 2-6, 3-6, 6-4
Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 7-6 (7/0), 6-3, 6-2
Dominic Thiem (AUT x8) bt Gilles Simon (FRA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Jared Donaldson (USA) bt Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 6-4, 7-6 (7/0), 6-7 (0/7), 6-2
David Ferrer (ESP) bt Steve Darcis (BEL) 3-0 -- retired
Tomas Berdych (CZE x11) bt Ryan Harrison (USA) 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3
Gael Monfils (FRA x15) bt Kyle Edmund (GBR) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) bt Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2
Ernests Gulbis (LAT) bt Juan Martn Del Potro (ARG x29) 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3)
Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Adam Pavlsek (CZE) 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
Women
2nd rd
Angelique Kerber (GER x1) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 7-5, 7-5
Shelby Rogers (USA) bt Lucie Safarova (CZE x32) 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-3
Sorana Cirstea (ROM) bt Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) -- retired
Garbie Muguruza (ESP x14) bt Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) 6-2, 6-4
Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x9) bt Christina McHale (USA) 5-7, 7-6 (9/7), 6-3
Timea Bacsinszky (SUI x19) bt Kristna Kucov (SVK) 6-1, 6-0
Polona Hercog (SLO) bt Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-2
Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x7) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) 6-0, 7-5
Magdalna Rybrikov (SVK) bt Karolna Plskov (CZE x3) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
Lesya Tsurenko (UKR) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
Petra Martic (CRO) bt Denisa Allertov (CZE) 6-1, 6-4
Zarina Diyas (KAZ) bt Arina Rodionova (AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7/4)
Alison Riske (USA) bt Kristina Mladenovic (FRA x12) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Coco Vandeweghe (USA x24) bt Tatjana Malek (GER) 6-4, 6-2
Anett Kontaveit (EST) bt Darya Kasatkina (RUS x29) 6-3, 6-2
