Meet tennis' new No. 1, two-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber
NEW YORK – Flat on her back on court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, Angelique Kerber had answered all of the questions asked of her during her three-week stay in New York: She was the new No. 1 tennis player in the world – and, in this moment –the 2016 U.S. Open champion.
“It’s the best year of my career,” a tearful Kerber said a few minutes later, trophy finally hers. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be No. 1 in the world and win Grand Slams. All the dreams came true this year.”
It has been a fairy tale year for Kerber, a 28-year-old German who has found her best tennis later than most athletes in this sport. She shocked Serena Williams in the Australian Open in January, then was runner up to the American at Wimbledon in July. A few weeks later she would win the Olympic silver medal in Rio and then – having just replaced Serena as the new world No. 1 mid-tournament – win her second major title.
But she doesn’t want to stop here.
“It sounds a little bit crazy,” Kerber said of hearing herself being called the No. 1 player. “But I really feel it. I did everything this year. I played so well.”
She played well on Saturday, too, with a new kind of pressure stacked on her shoulders: She was expected to win this match against No. 11-ranked Karolina Pliskova as the new world No. 1, no Serena Williams to go up against and say, ‘Hey, she’s too good.’
“Angelique had to draw on everything that she’s learned this year to win that match,” Pam Shriver, the ESPN commentator, told Paste BN Sports of the final. “Look at the way that she came out of the gates to beat Serena in Melbourne. She played that final, and won it. She righted her ship for Wimbledon. I give her a world of credit for her entire year. I give Torben a lot of credit, too.”
Kerber suffered earlier in the year after that win in Australia, suddenly a Grand Slam champion and unable to digest the demands of her newfound stardom. She crashed out of the first round of the French Open, going home to Germany to spend time with her family and work more with coach Torben Beltz, and her new fitness trainer, Cathrin Junker.
She would make the Wimbledon final against Serena and play close to her best tennis. It’s the same quality she showed the last two weeks in New York, when she dropped just one set in seven matches.
This time, however, she plans on no post-Australia slump. She understands the pressures and expectations of a world No. 1. This is what she has been working for.
“I think it seems to be the right time for her,” said Beltz, her coach. “It seems to be the right time because she plays her best tennis now. I think she has good years ahead, and it's the right time to play good now and to keep the confidence for the next big tournaments.”
Tennis’ new No. 1 is not Serena, not the player that has been around for 20 years and won 22 majors and is a sporting and cultural icon. But Kerber has found comfort in her own skin: She’s discovered new levels in her tennis that many told her weren’t there, and her rise – from a 91st-ranked surprise semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 2011 to Saturday’s second major title win – has been a demonstration in the slow climb of a champion.
She plans to stay on top for a while.
Beltz, a former journeyman player on the men’s tour, can now shave the two-week beard he was growing during Kerber’s run, something he said he planned to do Saturday night. Then it would be a celebratory dinner and drinks in downtown Manhattan.
Kerber said she has no plans to spend big off of her $3.5 million paycheck – the biggest in tennis. She will treat her team to dinner, have some champagne, too, she said, and then – after a whirlwind media tour of Manhattan on Monday – fly to Germany and take a few minutes on the plane to let it soak in: She is tennis’ top player right now, no questions asked.
“For me it’s important to stay who I am,” she said. “I’m trying to stay relaxed off the court. I’m always motivated when I’m stepping on court, but this is what I’m loving. I have the motivation to win every tournament I play in, especially the big ones.”
A few big ones in Melbourne, Paris, London and New York, she hopes, come 2017.
Best of the U.S. Open women's final