2017 slump was key to Wimbledon title, says Kerber

LONDON: Angelique Kerber said her Wimbledon triumph on Saturday would not have been possible without experiencing the lows of last year’s slide down the rankings.

The 30-year-old produced a superb display to beat Serena Williams 6-3, 6-3 and become the first German since Steffi Graf in 1996 to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court. She also beat Williams in the 2016 Australian Open final and is the only player, apart from Serena’s older sister Venus, to beat her twice in a Grand Slam final.

Kerber also won the US Open in 2016 and lost to Serena in the Wimbledon final, rising to No 1 in the WTA rankings.

The left-hander struggled to deal with the added focus last year, though, when she failed to win a title and slid from No 1 to 21 in the rankings.

“I think without 2017 I couldn’t win this tournament,” Kerber, who will rise back to world No 4, told reporters. “I think I learned a lot from last year, with all the expectation, all the things I go through. I learned so many things about myself.

“I also needed to find the motivation after 2016, which was amazing. To make again such a year is impossible. But I just tried to improve my game, not think too much about the results.”

JUST THE BEGINNING, SAYS BEATEN SERENA

LONDON:SERENA Williams said the latest chapter in her tennis life was “just beginning” on Saturday after seeing her hopes of a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title dashed in the Wimbledon final.

It also stopped her joining Court, Evonne Goolagong and Kim Clijsters as the only mothers to win Grand Slam titles in the professional era.

Williams only gave birth to daughter Alexis Olympia 10 months ago, and while she looked close to her best at times throughout the fortnight, she couldn’t find her A game against fellow former world No 1 Kerber.

Considering that the American suffered a difficult childbirth and needed several surgeries to remove blood clots after an emergency C-section, it was a huge achievement to contest her 10th Wimbledon final.

Far from being downhearted, though, Williams spoke afterwards of her desire to improve in time for the U.S. Open.

“This is literally just the beginning,” Williams said. “It’s good to just continue that path and just continue to keep going for me. I didn’t know a couple of months ago where I was, where I would be, how I would do, how I would be able to come back.