Happy Birthday: Kerber, Guardiola, Pietrangelo

Sport360 staff 11:20 18/01/2017
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  • We look at the stars born January 18.

    A breakthrough 2016 has made the German tennis star, who was born on this day 29 years ago, one of the globe’s premier sport stars. Kerber’s game reached new heights last year.

    She won her first two major titles at the Australian Open and US Open, these successes making her reach the coveted No1 spot in the world rankings for the first time on September 12.

    At the Rio Olympics, she also won a silver medal while representing her nation. Kerber’s career has been one of steady progress.

    She first debuted at a grand slam a decade ago, losing in the opening round at the French Open. Her breakthrough was to come in 2011 with her run to the semi-finals at the US Open.

    Kerber, a left-hander with an aggressive approach continued to improve and she won four WTA titles in 2015 a year before unprecented wins occurred.

    Other sport stars born on this day

    1964: Richard Dunwoody, a retired Northern Irish jockey who rode 1,699 British winners during his career (53).

    1967: Ivan Zamorano, retired Chile and Internazionale striker who was a bustling presence on pitch (50).

    1971: Pep Guardiola, ex-Barcelona midfielder and revolutionary coach now employed by Manchester City (46).

    1990: Alex Pietrangelo, an NHL star with St. Louis Blues and a gold medallist at the 2014 Winter Olympics (27).

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