Australian Open: Wim Fissette: The new one at Kerbers side

Under his leadership, Angelique Kerber is unbeaten in 2018. New coach Wim Fissette played a decisive role in shaping the height flight of the former number one in the world.

Wim Fissette already knew his new boss very well, long before the first working day in late autumn. Fissette was in the opposing camp for many years, he had to develop the right strategies for former employers against Angelique Kerber, for example when he was in the service of Simona Halep, Viktoria Azarenka, Johanna Kontakt or Sabine Lisicki.

“I had a clear plan of what I wanted and would work on with Angie,”says the 37-year-old Belgian, a youthful coach who had already shown outstanding success as a trainer at a very young age. Not to forget: Fissette was just 29 years old when he helped his Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters to stage their fascinating comeback. In 2009, Mama Clijsters won the US Open title out of nowhere and Fissette cheered in the stands.

Kerber and Fissette didn’t need a long lead time to create an amazing return mission on the Centre Court. At the Australian Open, the former world number one appears more wiry, tougher, more agile and fitter than ever before – the sweeping effect was documented in black and white:

Until the third-round triumph of Maria Sharapova in Melbourne (6-1,6-3) the 30-year-old from Kiel had not yet lost a single season’s match and had already celebrated a tournament success in Sydney. And one thing was to be seen above all else: Kerber’s weakness of many years, the slow, often not dynamic and self-confident serve, was simply no longer a weakness. On the contrary, it had developed into a plus point, a contributing factor to win matches.

“When we sat down for the first time and talked about our joint work, I made it clear that we had to make a real difference at the serve,” says Fissette,”after all, this is the only stroke in tennis that the opponent can’t influence”. Kerber wanted to serve vigorously in the last sixteen-final duel with Taiwanese Su-Wie Hsieh (on the night of Monday) and also wanted to serve with confidence.

Fissette had become known in Germany mainly as the coach of Sabine Lisicki. In 2013, the cooperation with the committed Belgian team led to the Berliner’s Wimbledon final, but the working relationship ended in the autumn of that season, allegedly because of “different tactical views”.

He is widely regarded as a man who still gave each of his bosses a significant boost and ensured playful progress. It was a “gut feeling” to choose Fissette, says Kerber, but it was of course also a very obvious personnel decision after the separation of long-term companion Torben Beltz. After all, there are not many trainers with comparable biographies and merits on the market.

Fissette knows what he has to do in the coming weeks and months to put the comeback of Kerbers on a solid footing at the top of the world “Angie is an absolute defensive artist. But she can and must dare even more attack. She has everything she needs to determine the matches for herself,”says Fissette,” the aim now is to get back into the top ten.