Top-ranked Kerber has nothing left to prove
MUNICH: Newly crowned world No 1 Angelique Kerber had nothing left to prove after clinching the US Open for her second Grand Slam title this year and securing a place in the record books, the German said yesterday.
The 28-year-old became the oldest player to rise to the No 1 ranking when the new list was published on Monday, capping a memorable summer that also included the silver medal at the Rio Olympics and a Wimbledon final appearance.
Her success in Rio was followed by a final defeat in Cincinnati to Katerina Pliskova, who she then beat in the US Open final.
“In Cincinnati, that is where the questions about No 1 started coming up, and that is where the additional pressure started,” she said.
Kerber started the year by winning the Australian Open, but said her triumph in New York on Saturday, coupled with the No 1 ranking, had now taken off any pressure.
“Winning the second Grand Slam, it was a bit different,” she said in Munich, following her return to Germany.
“I don’t have anything to prove anymore. I am at the top, No 1.
“I waited for this moment all my life,” she said.
“Melbourne was different as it was my first Grand Slam. I had to deal with a lot of things off the court after that.”
Kerber, who beat Pliskova in three sets in New York, having secured the top spot days earlier following Serena Williams’s exit, said her improved fitness and mental strength had been the key to her success.
“This year everything came together, specifically dealing with pressure. I am even fitter now than earlier this year. I am more positive and can deal with things, even if they do not go that well.”
“This mental strength was a lifesaver when I was trailing 3-1 in the third set,” she said. “At 28, I am now at the peak of my career and can enjoy it.”
Kerber said she would now put her tennis racket aside for a few days and treat herself to a special gift with some of her $3.5 million (R50.6m) prize money.
“It will probably be jewellery. But exactly what I don’t know.” – Reuters