Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Miami doubles winner Laura Siegemund wants to attack with a wildcard in singles
In doubles, Laura Siegemundlanded on the road to success faster than expected after her comeback. Now she wants to do it individually.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 08, 2022, 08:40 pm
Your rate in 2022 is quite outstanding. Played three tournaments together, won two of them - and recently not just any: The victory at the Miami Open in doubles, in the final against the second best duo in the world with Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova, came as a surprise for Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva.
Certainly not because they didn't dare: Siegemund/Zvonareva won the US Open in 2020, also quite sensationally, and thus made a name for themselves in the joint double business. However, their joint appearances were interrupted in 2021: Siegemund had to have an operation, the right knee was on strike again. In 2017, Siegemund had already torn his cruciate ligament in Nuremberg and was out for almost a year; afterwards the rest of the body pinched again and again. "At that time I had the feeling that I no longer knew my body," she recalled in the tennisnet interview .
Siegemund wants to do it again individually
Since March 2021, Siegemund had been struggling with knee problems again, trying for a long time without another operation - unsuccessfully. She took the Olympic Games with her, then the surgery followed, another six-month rehabilitation period, and the knee "is of course not the same as before. I have to do a lot of regular exercises, it's still work in progress". But she is satisfied, "it adapts well to the match situation and gets better with every tournament. I'm glad that I can play again at all and then achieve such a sensational success at the same level, I can be proud of that she said, looking back on the days in Miami .
Siegemund wants to be in the top 100 again
But Siegemund made it clear: "I want to come back in singles as well", the goal is to return to the top 100. Siegemund, formerly number 27, has slipped down to 232nd place after a long break. She wants to concentrate on the individual, especially on sand, says the 34-year-old, Siegemund can play eight tournaments with her protected ranking, a good sense of proportion is necessary for the selection here.
The comeback in singles has had a mixed start so far. At the ITF tournament in Portugal she reached the quarterfinals, in Lyon it was the end of the qualification, in Miami in round 1 in the main draw. "Of course I'm not satisfied with my individual performance. It was a very windy day and I had an opponent who currently has a lot of self-confidence. Nevertheless, of course I expect more from myself. It's not easy to be back on top after such a long time. level and I think I just need some more good matches and some confidence, " she said in retrospect .
Laura Siegemund at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: great memories of 2016 and 2017
A good patch for this in recent years: her home game, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Siegemund has a wildcard again this year - deservedly as a finalist in 2016 and winner in 2017.
In 2016 she sensationally rushed through qualification to the final, defeating the top ten players Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska in two sets. In 2017, three more victories over top ten competitors (Kuznetsova, Pliskova, Halep) followed and victory in the tournament in the dramatic final against Kristina Mladenovic. In her appearances in 2018 (after the long injury break), 2019 and 2021 she always won a match, last year she pushed the eventual winner Ashleigh Barty to the limit, at least in the second set.
This year? The path will probably not be any easier. Nine top 10 players are in Stuttgart. However, the native of Filderstadt has a big trump card up her sleeve: "her" audience, who after a year's break will be making sure there's a great atmosphere in the Porsche Arena again at this edition. And who knows: maybe Laura Siegemund is good for a surprise again?