Australian Open: Kerber:”I haven’t felt this good in a long time.”

Nine matches, nine victories – and the crowning glory of Sydney: Angelique Kerber has played her way into the Australian Open’s favourites with her furious start to the season. But the 29-year-old doesn’t want to put pressure on herself.

From Ulrike Weinrich from Melbourne

When Angelique Kerber trained at the site of her first Grand Slam triumph for the first time in less than a year on early Sunday evening, the sun shone over Melbourne Park. And this after the last rainy days in the city on the Yarra River. There could hardly have been a better omen for her Australian Open mission for the keeler, who started the season so strong.

In any case, Kerber’s self-confidence in the 60-minute session with her new coach Wim Fissette was clearly evident. Regardless of whether volleys or serve – “Angie” made almost no mistakes in the futuristic looking Hisense Arena during a quick exchange of shots with the Belgian. Happy Slam comfort zone – so to speak. Her analysis came as no surprise:”I haven’t felt so good on the course for a long time,”she stressed.

One day after their Sydney coup, the world’s No. 16 presented itself much more defensively on the subject of title chances:”For me, a new tournament is starting here, it’s starting from scratch. And I know that I have to show my best tennis right from the start,”said Kerber at the press conference in Media Room 3. She doesn’t want to put too much pressure on herself. The left-handed woman learned from last year, during which she dropped from the tennis throne to 21st place in the WTA ranking.

The perfect start to the 2018 season, in which she is still unbeaten after nine matches, was all the more reassuring:”I didn’t expect to win the first tournament,”said Kerber. And the moments with the glass trophy?”That,”she emphasized with a smile,”felt really good again. I know what to do on the court.”

The main reason for this is Wim Fissette. Together with the analyst, Kerber drew up a plan at the first training camp in Lanzarote to build on her previous successes,”It felt good from the very beginning. These are concrete things that I am now putting into action on the pitch,”said the two-time Major Winner. Barbara Rittner also praised the Belgian in the tennisnet interview:”Wim has done a great job. With the self-confidence of the won matches in her back, she plays more aggressively right at the beginning of the year. And that coupled with her perfect countergame, we see an even better Angie than in 2016 – but with the same expression of that time.”

Above all, Fissette worked intensively on the service of his protégé,”I know that the service was the deficit in recent years. He’s already safer now,”Kerber stated. She doesn’t pull the left leg no more and therefore doesn’t stand so frontal anymore. In addition, the two-time winner of the Porsche Grand Prix will serve up a little more from the front page to the outside.

Despite the dream launch in 2018, Kerber still sees a lot of potential in the already harmonious interaction with Fissette,”I think it will take time. On Tuesday, Anna-Lena Friedsam is waiting for the Australian Open winner of 2016 in the first round of Melbourne. Last season, Kerber has left Kerber behind – just like the Sydney triumph:”Everything starts from scratch”. The motto is simply taken from her.