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Published January 28, 2016 12:14
MELBOURNE, Australia - Twenty years after the last German (Anke Huber) and last lefty (Monica Seles) competed for the Australian Open crown in 1996, German lefty Angelique Kerber is just one match from her first major title, but already achieved a major milestone by winning Thursday's semifinal over Johanna Konta, and will rise to a career-high ranking of No.4 next Monday.
One of only 58 women to earn a career-high ranking in the Top 4, Kerber is the fourth German after Steffi Graf (No.1), Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (No.4) and Huber (No.4) to be ranked so high. Should she win her next match, the final against World No.1 Serena Williams, she would rise to No.2, a ranking achieved by only 33 women in WTA history.
"That's a special moment, a special feeling to get there right now, to be in the final," she told press after her her win. "I mean, I've been in the Top 10 for four years, but I was not playing so good in the big tournaments last year. That was my focus, to play better in the bigger ones.
"Now I'm in the finals here. So that means, of course, a lot."
Kerber burst onto the scene back in 2011 a mere two weeks after Andrea Petkovic predicted big things for her friend and countrywoman. Ranked No.92 in the world, she roared into the US Open semifinals with wins over Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta, and began a meteoric rise up the rankings - one that took her up to a previous career-high of No.5 in October of 2012.
"I was No.100 in the world and I lost 11 times I think in the first round. Then I came to New York, and I get to the semifinals. That was where a new career where started, and from there I spent four years in the Top 10."
Coached by Torben Beltz, she earned eight Top 10 victories in 2012 - including wins over Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Petra Kvitova - reached a second Grand Slam semifinal at the Wimbledon Championships - where she won a classic quarterfinal encounter against compatriot Sabine Lisicki - and qualified for her first of three WTA Finals appearances.
In the Top 5 as recently as the start of the 2013 season, the German has been a consistent force in the Top 10 since her initial breakthrough, but struggled to maintain that world-beating form over the next two years - dropping as low as No.16 last spring.
"There was one year where I reached four finals, and I lost all four. We had a lot of tough moments then. I've also had tough matches where I was up but I was losing in the end."
Inspired by the opportunity to train with in Las Vegas with Graf, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, and reuniting with Beltz, Kerber went on a tear at WTA tournaments in 2015, winning four Premier events in Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham, and Stanford. Still, success on the biggest stages eluded her, and a heartbreaking loss to Lucie Safarova at last year's BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global proved to be a turning point heading into the 2016 season.
"I think my nerves were actually the big challenge for me today. In Singapore I was not able to control them against Safarova.
"After this match I told myself that I will learn from that match and hope this will never happen again."
Up against pre-tournament favorite and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka, she held her nerve in emphatic style, winning the last five games to defeat the Belarusian for the first time in seven meetings, and remained solid against a surging Konta who was playing with house money in her first Grand Slam semifinal.
"It was a tough match today mentally, because I played a very good match against Vika yesterday, and I knew today I must go out there and play again good, be aggressive. I also knew that she had beaten a lot of good players these two weeks, and it would be not easy.
"But I handled it and my nerves from the beginning of the match. It feels really good to be for my first time in the final."
The fortnight is a full-circle moment for Kerber, who was spurred on by her idol and now finds herself the only player left to prevent Williams from tying that very idol's record Grand Slam total. She jokingly pleaded with Graf to send her some advice on how to beat the defending champion, but given her win over the American at the height of her 2012 peak, she might not need too much outside assistance.
"I remember that I was serving very well," she said of their match at the Western & Southern Open, exactly one year after Petkovic's prescient prediction. "I remember also a lot of matches against Serena, that we have great and close matches in the past.
"I think and I hope that she will also have respect for me. I must play my best tennis to beat her."
One of only 58 women to earn a career-high ranking in the Top 4, Kerber is the fourth German after Steffi Graf (No.1), Claudia Kohde-Kilsch (No.4) and Huber (No.4) to be ranked so high. Should she win her next match, the final against World No.1 Serena Williams, she would rise to No.2, a ranking achieved by only 33 women in WTA history.
"That's a special moment, a special feeling to get there right now, to be in the final," she told press after her her win. "I mean, I've been in the Top 10 for four years, but I was not playing so good in the big tournaments last year. That was my focus, to play better in the bigger ones.
"Now I'm in the finals here. So that means, of course, a lot."
Kerber burst onto the scene back in 2011 a mere two weeks after Andrea Petkovic predicted big things for her friend and countrywoman. Ranked No.92 in the world, she roared into the US Open semifinals with wins over Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta, and began a meteoric rise up the rankings - one that took her up to a previous career-high of No.5 in October of 2012.
"I was No.100 in the world and I lost 11 times I think in the first round. Then I came to New York, and I get to the semifinals. That was where a new career where started, and from there I spent four years in the Top 10."
Coached by Torben Beltz, she earned eight Top 10 victories in 2012 - including wins over Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Petra Kvitova - reached a second Grand Slam semifinal at the Wimbledon Championships - where she won a classic quarterfinal encounter against compatriot Sabine Lisicki - and qualified for her first of three WTA Finals appearances.
In the Top 5 as recently as the start of the 2013 season, the German has been a consistent force in the Top 10 since her initial breakthrough, but struggled to maintain that world-beating form over the next two years - dropping as low as No.16 last spring.
"There was one year where I reached four finals, and I lost all four. We had a lot of tough moments then. I've also had tough matches where I was up but I was losing in the end."
Inspired by the opportunity to train with in Las Vegas with Graf, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, and reuniting with Beltz, Kerber went on a tear at WTA tournaments in 2015, winning four Premier events in Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham, and Stanford. Still, success on the biggest stages eluded her, and a heartbreaking loss to Lucie Safarova at last year's BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global proved to be a turning point heading into the 2016 season.
"I think my nerves were actually the big challenge for me today. In Singapore I was not able to control them against Safarova.
"After this match I told myself that I will learn from that match and hope this will never happen again."
Up against pre-tournament favorite and former No.1 Victoria Azarenka, she held her nerve in emphatic style, winning the last five games to defeat the Belarusian for the first time in seven meetings, and remained solid against a surging Konta who was playing with house money in her first Grand Slam semifinal.
"It was a tough match today mentally, because I played a very good match against Vika yesterday, and I knew today I must go out there and play again good, be aggressive. I also knew that she had beaten a lot of good players these two weeks, and it would be not easy.
"But I handled it and my nerves from the beginning of the match. It feels really good to be for my first time in the final."
The fortnight is a full-circle moment for Kerber, who was spurred on by her idol and now finds herself the only player left to prevent Williams from tying that very idol's record Grand Slam total. She jokingly pleaded with Graf to send her some advice on how to beat the defending champion, but given her win over the American at the height of her 2012 peak, she might not need too much outside assistance.
"I remember that I was serving very well," she said of their match at the Western & Southern Open, exactly one year after Petkovic's prescient prediction. "I remember also a lot of matches against Serena, that we have great and close matches in the past.
"I think and I hope that she will also have respect for me. I must play my best tennis to beat her."
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