Yesterday was a day to forget for Germany’s Angelique Kerber as she crashed out of the Stuttgart Open in straight sets.
Facing Kristina Mladenovic in the second round of the tournament, the world No.2 failed to convert 6/7 break points during her 7-5, 6-2 loss. The defeat comes during what has been a roller coaster start to the season for the world No.2. The first seven tournaments of the season saw Kerber only reach one semifinal in Dubai. Her breakthrough occurred at the start of the month in Monterrey, where she was runner-up to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Despite the encouraging run in Mexico, Kerber’s Stuttgart performance shows that she is still struggling to generate the consistency that resulted in a surge up the world rankings last year.
“It was for sure one of the worst matches I have players over the last few months.” Kerber said following her loss to Mladenovic. “I was not able to find my rhythm, I was making a lot of mistakes.”
“Also, I was not moving too good. From my side, I was not playing my best tennis.”
A familiar pattern has formed in Kerber’s press conferences this season. She has always stated that she has been practising well prior to her matches. In February she said her challenge was ‘transferring that into matches.’ Two months later the upbeat German echo’s the same perspective as she returns to the drawing board with her team.
“I will sit down with my team over the next days and think about it (the match). Still, I’m feeling good, I’m practicing good.” Kerber explained.
“I will try to forget this match as soon as possible.”
Questions remain as to why the 29-year-old is struggling to shine on the tour. Potentially it could be a mental problem blocking her success. This season Kerber finds herself as one of the stars of the women’s tour, a two-time grand slam champion closing in on returning back to world No.1. Nevertheless, she continues to deny that her mentality isn’t affecting her performance.
“I’m not thinking about the rankings. This is not me to look at the rankings every week and count point. I am here to play good tennis, trying to play my tennis.” She stated.
Kerber’s quest for her first title of the season continues in less than two week’s at the Madrid Open, a tournament where she has lost in the first round three consecutive times.
Kerber’s 2017 season so far
Brisbane – Quarter-finalist (lost to Elina Svitolina)
Sydney – Round 2 (lost to Daria Kasatkina)
Australian Open – Round 4 (lost to Coco Vandeweghe)
Doha – Round 2 (lost to Daria Kasatkina)
Dubai Open – semifinalist (lost to Elina Svitolina)
BNP Paribas Open/Indian Wells – Round 3 (lost to Elena Vesnina)
Miami – Quarterfinalist (lost to Venus Williams)
Monterrey – Runner-up (lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova)
Stuttgart – R2 (lost to Kristina Mladenovic)
Current win-loss record against top-30 players stand at 1-8
