It seems like even a Grand Slam title can’t disrupt Angelique Kerber’s level-headed approach to her 2016 season.
Kerber rose to prominence this year at the Australian Open when she displayed exceptional tennis to stun Serena Williams in the final, becoming the first German Grand Slam champion since Steffi Graf in 1999. The win elevated the 28-year-old into a world where she was in the main spotlight. It was very easy for the surge in fame to go straight to her head, however, Kerber isn’t a player that would change for anybody.
“I will always take my little bit of head space, which I need for myself,” Kerber recently told the media.
“I am still the person who I was and that is the most important thing for me.”
Initially there were worries that her triumph in Melbourne had affected her mentality on the tour as she suffered first match losses in Doha and Indian Wells. Fortunately for her contingent of fans, the slump was short-lived. Reaching back-to-back semifinals in Miami and Charleston, Kerber reassured the world that her Melbourne performance wasn’t a one-off freak incident.
The convincing results in America wasn’t the biggest test for the German, it was what happened last week in Stuttgart. The new darling of German tennis endured national media bombarding her with questions. Can she handle the pressure as a Grand Slam champion? How will she cope with the prospect of defending her title? Can she keep her form up?
The answer to all these questions didn’t have to come from Kerber’s mouth. It was her performance at the Porsche-Arena that cooled those concerns. Dropping just one set in the tournament, she became the sixth woman in history to win the tournament two consecutive times.
Following her win in Stuttgart, some have started to wonder if she could win back-to-back Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros. Kerber certainly has the belief, but her focus isn’t just on how many matches she wins.
“I know I can play well on clay. This is the attitude I’ll take to Paris,” the world No. 3 said.
“I don’t want to become results-oriented, because I know that can go wrong,” she added.
At the age of 28, it could be asked why she hasn’t reached her full potential before now. Kerber has always been a strong player on the tour, winning seven WTA titles and reaching two Grand Slam semifinals prior to this year. There was one change made to Kerber’s game at the start of this year, how she thinks on the court.
“The mental part is really big… you must be relaxed and you must really believe in yourself… I really tried to improve my game, improve also my mentality, to stay more relaxed,” Kerber said during this year’s Australian Open.
The impressive thing for Kerber is that she has changed her mentality without losing sight of the key goals of her career. Four months later she notes that winning isn’t everything and she has stayed true to herself.
The approach by Kerber is why she has generated a surge in popularity on the tour. No matter how many matches she wins or losses, you always know what kind of person you will get from Kerber. A strong minded individual who is focused on the development of her own game and not on what others are saying about her. The 28-year-old is the prime example of how to cope with life at the top of the women’s game. An example that others on the tour can learn from.
