After her clear opening victory, Angelique Kerber has a special encounter to look forward to at the Australian Open: On her 30th birthday, Angelique Kerber will be able to win the Australian Open. On her 50th birthday on Thursday she will play against the new protégé of her former coach Torben Beltz.
From Ulrike Weinrich from Melbourne
There will be no parachute jump over Melbourne on Thursday. At least not by Angelique Kerber and Torben Beltz. The 2016 bet has not yet been settled. At that time, the Kieler Down Under won her first Grand Slam title – and swam with her coach Beltz in front of a sea of TV cameras in the Yarra River. That’s a nice idea. However, a much longer agreement was that in the case of Kerber’s first major coup they both would dare to take off from lofty heights.
“This parachute jump,”Kerber said after the easy 6-0,6-4 opener at the Australian Open against Anna-Lena Friedsam (Neuwied),”may not happen until after the end of my career,” but it will definitely happen in the second round of the first major in 2018. Kerber will meet Donna Vekic on Thursday – and the Croatian has been trained by Beltz for a few weeks after the 41-year-old lost his job as coach of the former number one at the end of last season.
That the “rendezvous” with the “ex” of all people goes back to Kerber’s 30th birthday. Birthday celebrations, is another exciting side note. However, anyone who had expected a verbal mud battle before the duel was mistaken. This comes as no surprise when you appreciate the two characters:”We didn’t part badly. And I know he doesn’t wish me any harm. Everyone out there will do their job and try their best,”said Kerber with an eye to Beltz, who had looked after them with a small interruption since their earliest youth.
She has not regretted the step away from Beltz, i. e. out of the familiar oasis of well-being, towards new shores and the experienced Belgian Wim Fissette. Ten victories in ten matches since the beginning of the year speak for themselves after the screwed-up 2017 season. It was the “right time” for them to change something.
Anyone who knows Kerber knows how important their tried and tested products are. The left-handed woman also managed the new start so easily, because she has matured enormously in the last 24 months – and after the emotional rollercoaster ride showed herself humble:”I am grateful for these two extreme years,”she said on Tuesday and told me about the reason for the ended cooperation:”Torben and I had together up and down. It was time for both of them to go different ways.”
Beltz, who congratulated Kerber after her victory in Sydney last Saturday, is also looking forward to the match:”It’s something special, of course. I experienced a lot with Angie, we had a great time together,”said the 41-year-old in a tennisnet interview. The separation did not leave a bitter aftertaste. Nevertheless, up to the end I believed that we could still manage and achieve this together. Even at the last tournament in Zhuhai,”he emphasized.
Kerber is reluctant to compare the two coaches Fissette and Beltz:”It’s just two different people, two different coaches – and everyone has their own view of the situation. After training on Wednesday, she wants to take the time to go to Melbourne and have a cup of coffee in Melbourne. The next day a special reunion awaits – the tennis”rendezvous” with the “ex”.