Wimbledon: Kerber and Görges want more after the death of their favourites

Nine of the ten best seeds are out – Angelique Kerber and Julia Görges are lurking behind them. Kerber must, however, on Monday (from 2 p.m. in the LIVETICKER) play against a so far bitter balance.

By Jörg Allmeroth from Wimbledon

Angelique Kerber’s answer came as sure as the Amen in church. “I’m just looking at myself. And not on who will be eliminated here,” said the German on Saturday evening, at the end of a historic first Grand Slam week. Because what the German finalist of 2016 wants to ignore at all costs is the dominant topic of conversation in Wimbledon’s turf kingdom: the unbelievable series of defeats of the stars in the women’s competition, the silent and soundless disappearance of favourites, the uninterrupted slips on the tennis greens.

Wimbledon 2018, the 50th edition since the beginning of the professional era: It’s a bag of wonders where you don’t know what’s left – after the first part of the tournament full of amazement and caprioles, after the departure of nine of the top ten seeded players. “It’s possible that a player who doesn’t even know her luck is winning,” said former US great Chris Evert.

Of course, things can be quite different. Namely, with a fully expected winner, with Serena Williams, who could celebrate her eighth title in Wimbledon, the 24th Grand Slam Cup win overall and the first major coup as a proud mom.

Williams will be the only woman on the Centre Court on Manic Monday, the day of the Round of 16 for both men and women. Although she is only number 25 on the seed list after pregnancy and the birth of daughter Olympia, the All England Club naturally nominates her in a series with the giants Federer and Nadal on the main meadow on Church Road.

Many suspected rivals of Williams, the younger, have long since soberly departed, defending champion Garbine Muguruza for example. Or French Open Queen Simona Halep, number one in the rankings. Or Australian Open winner Caroline Wozniacki, the world’s number two. Or Sister Venus.

“This Wimbledon tournament is also an expression of the confusion in women’s tennis,” says Martina Navratilova, the nine-time winner in southwest London. There is no real hierarchy.” At least not as long as Williams is still working on her comeback.

Kerber and her countrywoman Julia Görges are now, behind Karolina Pliskova, the highest ranked players left in the circus of the Grand Slamsensations. Both have defied the confusion of this Wimbledon edition in a fiery summer heat with determination and conviction, thus underlining their exceptional position among the national players in the touring business.

Görges, who completely turned her sporting environment upside down a year and a half ago, even advanced to the eighth-finals for the first time after years of turf aversion and below-average results. Unlike so many competitors, including those from Germany, Görges has learned from mistakes and inadequate personnel planning in her team and has completely repositioned herself.

On Monday, the biggest day of the entire tennis year, Görges will meet Croatian Donna Vekic, the strong friend of Swiss ace Stan Wawrinka. A difficult but feasible task for the self-confident 29-year-old international.

Kerber, however, remains Germany’s greatest hope, especially after an outstanding performance against Japanese Naomi on Saturday’s Centre Court. The former world number one played like a current world number one, also like a possible championess of this tournament.

“Everything really worked out,” said the 30-year-old from Kiel later. Especially at the Grand Slam tournaments, which were so disappointing for the former front woman in the epidemic year 2017, Kerber is now stubbornly demonstrating quality – consistency at a high level. What will come for Kerber in Wimbledon after the Melbourne semi-final and the Paris quarter-final in 2018 remains reserved for the hot second week.

But Kerber is in the middle of the big game, fighting for the first prize. Especially when she overcomes the hurdle in front of her on Monday in the shape of Belinda Bencic. The 21-year-old Swiss, once considered “Miss Swiss” after Martina Hingis and potentially the new number 1, is now on the upswing again after a sporting and private crisis.

Kerber lost all three matches so far against Bencic, also in the 2016 Fed Cup duel in Leipzig, directly after the Australian Open victory. But both rivals have never met on grass before. “I’m ready for this task,” says Kerber.