Has there ever been a better validation for enduring through a difficult period?
Some 18 months ago, a tired and despondent Kiki Bertens contemplated professional retirement; in 2019, she arrived at The Championships with a career-high world No.4 ranking.
If her efficient first round win over Mandy Minella is an indication, then Bertens will be a force to be reckoned with.
It took her an hour and seven minutes to claim the 6-3, 6-2 victory on Centre Court, in a match that was originally scheduled for Court 12.
The 33-year-old Minella from Luxembourg is also a stunning example of endurance. She returned to The Championships for the first time since 2017, when she competed while pregnant with her daughter.
As she chatted and laughed with Bertens, Minella simply seemed delighted with her return to the All England Club. Most special, perhaps, was daughter Emma Lina’s brief appearance with her father courtside during the warm-up.
Bertens cast an equally relaxed figure pre-match, underlining the changed mindset that helped her remarkable career turnaround. Named the WTA’s Most Improved Player after rediscovering her love for the game in 2018, Bertens' many highs in a career-best season was a first quarter-final at Wimbledon.
Also a runner-up at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and a semi-finalist at Eastbourne in the lead-up to The Championships this year, Bertens produced a powerful and composed performance against Minella.
After breaking the world No.98’s serve for a 4-2 advantage in the opening set, Bertens dropped her own service game. But when she broke again in the eighth game, the Dutchwoman was able to consolidate, securing the opener in 31 minutes.
Bertens claimed a decisive break in the fifth game of the second set, claiming the last five games of the match to secure her decisive victory.
“I think that I stayed calm and gave all the energy that I had today,” she commented post-match, of a performance that included two aces, 12 winners and 12 unforced errors.
Noting that she “would like to play a little more aggressive” in the second round, when the No.4 seed will take on American Taylor Townsend, Bertens will also aim to build on the positive mindset she achieved after that difficult period late in the 2017 season.
At that time, the thought of losses filled Bertens with such despair that she questioned her desire to remain on tour. A positive turning point came when coach Raemon Sliter and physical therapist Remko de Rijke – also her fiancé – helped the 27-year-old achieve her goals to develop her health and resilience.
Those qualities have also factored recently for Bertens, who was forced to retire from her second-round match at Roland-Garros with a stomach illness and surrendered five championship points to Alison Riske in the final of her home event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
But with the ability to place such challenges in perspective, the “new” Bertens is also embracing the many opportunities of her position. A chance to compete on Wimbledon’s famed Centre Court is one of them.
“That was a big surprise,” beamed the world No.4, after spending time signing autographs and posing for selfies with fans courtside.“It was a good atmosphere out there.”
One of many positives in a new career chapter, you sense the next ones for Bertens will only be better.
