In May in Paris, Angelique Kerber’s French Open was over as quickly as it began: the world No.1 crashed out in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova, winning a mere four games in two sets in 82 minutes.
“I’m starting from zero here,” the German told reporters at Wimbledon on Saturday.
A finalist at The Championships a year ago against Serena Williams, Kerber has been handed the honour of opening play on Tuesday on Centre Court in the absence of the defending champion, and will face Irina Falconi, a qualifier from the United States.
Having had the spring that she did – losing her opener at Roland Garros and recording victories in just two out of six matches on clay – you can’t blame Kerber for wanting a fresh start. Grass gives her that.
“For me, it's now the next tournament, the next Grand Slam here,” said the 29-year-old. “You know that everything is possible, especially in this big tournament. My mind is just day by day here, like last year. I will try to play good tennis again.”
If 2016 was her fairy-tale year – winning the Australian and US Opens, finishing runner-up at the All England Club and ending the year as world No.1 – then 2017 has been more like a bad dream. She fell in the fourth round in Melbourne and has a 21-14 record overall, reaching just one final. Last year she won three tournaments and made another five final appearances.
While Kerber arrives as the top seeded player, four other women on tour have the chance to steal her No.1 ranking by the end of the Fortnight.
“I will try, of course, to keep it,” she smiled. “But at the end, I am here to play round by round and focus only on my matches, not [on] the numbers or the rankings or the points I have to defend.”
What has gone wrong for Kerber this season? Quite simply she’s lacked confidence and – often – the will to work harder than an opponent, a hallmark of her defensive game. Gone is the hustle that brought her two major trophies, as well as the ability to turn defence into attack almost instantaneously. But that’s what she hopes the Wimbledon grass brings out of her game again.
In Eastbourne she won two matches before losing a close encounter to the British No.1 Johanna Konta, 6-3, 6-4. It was her first tournament since the French Open, and clearly the wins – and a battle against a fellow top-10 player – will give her confidence heading into Wimbledon.
“It's great to be back here,” she said. “I mean, when I arrived, a lot of great memories came through my mind. So it's nice, of course, to be back, especially on grass, and here in Wimbledon.”
Wimbledon has worked well for Kerber in the past: she reached the semi-finals in 2012 and then the quarter-finals in 2014, before her tilt at the final a year ago. She didn’t drop a set en route to facing Serena, where she lost a highly-competitive final 7-5, 6-3.
Kerber could face much stiffer competition this year, however, with Lucie Safarova projected to be her third-round opponent and then a potential fourth round against Garbine Muguruza, the 2015 finalist, and a quarter-final clash against veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova or 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska. Karolina Pliskova – the Eastbourne champion and many people’s tip to take the title – is also in the top half of the draw.
“I know that if you work hard, some points you will get the results,” Kerber said of her up-and-down season. “I am here to play good tennis, trying to win every single match. I'm really happy that I'm playing good tennis again on the practice courts, but now I have to make the [transition]. I think this is more in my mind, and not putting too much pressure for this tournament on my belt.”
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