Angelique Kerber’s shock triumph over Serena Williams in the final of the Australian Open has paved her way to future Grand Slam success according to German Fed Cup captain Barbara Rittner.
The 28-year-old has never reached a final of a Grand Slam tournament prior to this year, however, her outstanding performance against Williams in Melbourne impressed many. Now positioned at No.2 in the world, Kerber has to cope with the expectation of performing well at the three remaining major tournaments of this year. The elevation of expectation placed upon Kerber in one that it’s daunting for any player in a similar scenario. Nevertheless, former world No.24 Ritner expects the German to maintain her presence on the main stage of the tour.
“I think Angie is hungry for more,” Rittner told CNN.
“She’s not slowing down. She will try to do this again but nobody knows how she’s reacting to the media attention.
“Everything is changing a little bit but because she is so down to earth, normal people around her, great coach, I think we will hear quite some more about her.”
Kerber’s winning run ended at the Fed Cup, where she lost in straight sets to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic. The loss followed her win over Timea Baczinsky the previous day. At the time, Kerber admitted that she was feeling fatigued during the Fed Cup clash.
“I was a little bit tired, especially at the end of the first set, but I was trying to take all my energy from the crowd and the team.” The World No.2 recently said.
Kerber now has another issue to trouble her, a thigh problem which forced her out of this week’s Dubai Tennis Championships. Fortunately the withdrawal in Dubai was only a precaution. According to German website ZDF, Kerber strained her thigh slightly during training and has now been given the all clear. Her next tournament is will be next week’s Doha Open where she is the top seed.
The Doha tournament will be the best indication yet of where the world No.2 is currently is in her game. She certainly has the capability of being the best is the world. The question now isn’t about her ability to play against the best. It in now about her ability to be consistent every week on the tour. If she achieves this, Williams and the rest of the tour can expect a much tougher route to future titles.
