Kerber hits back
IN 2017 Angelique Kerber surrendered two grand slam tournament crowns and the world No.1 ranking.
Stripped of the sport’s most precious ornaments, Kerber was sent back to the fringes and, at 29, the German’s best was thought to have passed.
Instead of contending for, and winning, titles as she had in 2016, Kerber was anchored in a clamouring pack.
But the lessons she learned last season and the recruitment of Kim Clijsters’ former coach Wim Fissette were the unlikely bedrock of an incredible Wimbledon victory.
“I think without 2017, I couldn’t win this tournament,” Kerber said after demolishing Serena Williams 6-3, 6-3. “I learnt a lot from last year, with all the expectation, all the things I go through.
“I learnt so many things about myself, about the things around, how to deal with this, how to make my day schedule. I try to enjoy every single moment now.
“I just try to improve my game, thinking not too much about the results, trying to be a better tennis player, a better person, yeah, trying to enjoying my tennis again.”
Fissette overhauled Kerber’s game, adding more adventurous elements to her impenetrable defence.
Kerber is one of only five players to beat Williams in a major final (Venus Williams, Sam Stosur, Maria Sharapova and Garbine Muguruza).