Kerber after Bad Homburg victory: "One of the most beautiful moments of my career"
Angelique Kerber celebrated her first title since Wimbledon 2018 at the tournament in Bad Homburg, she not only impressed as a player at the home game.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jun 27, 2021, 09:16 am
Whenever Angelique Kerber stood in front of a camera in the last week, sooner or later a sentence followed that sounded like an order on her own behalf. She wanted to make the players "happy" at the tournament in Bad Homburg, said Kerber, they should and should "feel comfortable and secure" in the idyllic atmosphere of the Hessian spa town.
The final punch of a memorable week of competition, however, was this: the happiest participant in the first Bad Homburg Open was none other than Kerber himself, the tournament ambassador and “mother of the company” shone as the title heroine with the summer sun on Saturday afternoon. "It was the perfect moment here and now, one of the most beautiful of my career," said the tearful tennis veteran, who was able to lift a trophy for the first time since her historic Wimbledon triumph in 2018.
Rittner: "Hard work pays off"
The incredibly strong overall performance, crowned with the 6: 3, 6: 2 final victory over the Czech Katerina Siniakova, actually aroused hopes for the qualifying games that begin this Monday in the tennis sanctuary of Wimbledon. "The hard work that Angie has invested in the last few months is now paying off," said DTB woman boss Barbara Rittner, "I don't think that you would like to have her as an opponent at Wimbledon."
In the tightly packed tournament calendar of this second pandemic season, the 33-year-old from Kiel literally had no breathing space to celebrate and enjoy the successful coup in the Kurpark with family and friends - Kerber had to get on the plane to London on Saturday evening to get in front Place in the All England Club still to be prepared for the Grand Slam opening match against the Serbian Nina Stojanovic (WTA ranking 86). “I approach Wimbledon calmly and calmly. But now also with a lot of tailwind, with new self-confidence, ”said the home winner in a cheerful and relaxed state.
Kerber involved in everything at the home tournament
In addition to the three Grand Slam triumphs, the jump to number 1 in the world rankings at the US Open 2016 and winning the Olympic silver medal, the success in Bad Homburg should be one of the most emotionally valuable moments in Kerber's eventful career. The tournament is “not like any other,” said Kerber even before the first rallies, and in fact she had not just given her good name to the newcomer to the traveling circus, but also contributed to the atmosphere and functionality of the whole project. Kerber's manager Aljoscha Thron repeatedly invited his boss to work meetings and took her with him when it came to recruiting sponsors. “She really represented the tournament and was involved in all the details,” says Thron.
That was not without effect on the Kerber matches at these first lawn festivities in Bad Homburg. Unlike many other tournaments in the last 24 months, Kerber appeared full of passion, determination and willpower - the intention to write history herself as the first winner filled her with the glamor of the best tennis times. Especially in the Corona crisis, Kerber was often lost and appeared a bit disoriented, far from staging a comeback in the narrower world elite on the Center Courts. Even the return campaign of long-time coach Torben Beltz didn't work, Kerber had actually shrunk to a marginal figure in the big game since spring 2020 until the Bad Homburg Open. Again and again speculations germinated that the end of Kerber's career was approaching.
Kerber and Wimbledon: Return to the Theater of Dreams
But if Kerber goes to hand-work with the necessary guts and bite, if fitness and tournament feeling are right, then you can still count on her. Even two three-set wins on Friday are then possible, including the rousing semi-final success against the two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova - in that victory, by the way, Kerber made up a 3: 6, 1: 3 deficit and managed a rebreak in the decisive third set after 5: 6 residue. It seemed like a small miracle after the disappointments and hardships of the season so far.
And now Wimbledon, the return to the theater of dreams. If everything goes well, Kerber could meet an old friend in the third round. On Serena Williams, the woman to whom she lost in the first final at the All England Club in 2016. And against whom she won confidently two years later. Now a lot is possible again for Kerber. After a perfect tennis week at home in Germany, after a week "like a dream."