Two-time grand slam champion Angelique Kerber has already got herself back on track, but the German has set herself some big goals to work towards.
After a roller-coaster 2017 season that saw her drop out of the top 20, Kerber has regained her momentum on the tour. So far she has won 25 out of 34 matches contested on the tour this year. Claiming her 11th WTA title at the Sydney International in January. Since then, she has reached the quarter-finals or better at five of her six tournaments.
The turnaround in Kerber’s form has been partly attributed to her coach Wim Fissette. Who joined her team at the end of 2017. 38-year-old Fissette is a renowned coach on the tour who has also worked with Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep and Kim Clijsters. During an interview with wtatennis.com, the Belgian mentor has blamed pressure for Kerber’s downfall last season.
“Angie felt a lot of pressure last year. With all the pressure on her, and also with all the off-court activities as well – because as No.1 you have to do so much more off court – she didn’t feel fresh in her head last year.” He said.
“There was too much to do and she couldn’t enjoy being on the court and enjoy playing tennis and fighting for every point. She felt a lot of expectations on her as No.1 in the world.”
Kerber is currently ranked 12th in the world, but is aiming to reclaim the top spot one day. So far in her career, she has spent 20 weeks as world No.1. Becoming only the second German player to do so after Steffi Graf.
“Her goal is to get back to No.1 again one day, and then do things differently to how she did it last year,” Fissette said.
The next test of the Kerber-Fissette partnership will be at Roland Garros. They will be hoping that lightening doesn’t strike twice at the tournament. Last year Kerber was the top seed in the draw, but crashed out of the first round to Ekaterina Makarova. Kerber hasn’t won a match at the French Open since 2015.
Despite her recent poor record, there are still encouraging signs. At last week’s Italian Open, the German No.2 cruised to the quarter-finals before crashing out to eventual champion Elina Svitolina. A much needed confidence boost for Kerber, who had been dealing with a right thigh injury earlier in the month.
“I was very pleased with the last week in Rome, where she had four matches and played better with every match. She was playing the game she needs to play if she’s going to be successful on clay,” Fissette said.
“When she was young, she practised on carpet, so she feels a lot more comfortable on grass than on the clay. Her grip is a bit more classic so higher contact is difficult for her. But everything is about finding solutions, and adjusting her game to avoid the higher contacts, which she can do through working on her movement.”
Kerber’s best performance at the French Open was reaching the quarter-finals back in 2012. This year will be her 11th main draw appearance.
