The Wimbledon winner came in taupe pleated skirt and white blouse with flounces – and was in a good mood three days after her triumph on Church Road. No signs of tiredness, Angelique Kerber seemed completely relaxed and shone from her alert blue eyes when she entered the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart a little late on Tuesday afternoon. She had brought the replica of the silver Wimbledon bowl in a green case.
By Ulrike Weinrich from Stuttgart
And Kerber never lost sight of the imitation Venus Rosewater Dish, as this meaningful pregnant trophy is officially called. “Right now I’m still full of emotion, but I’m realizing that I’m a Wimbledon winner. This feeling, these emotions come back again, you can’t put it into words. This is a moment that will be in me forever,” said the 30-year-old, who arrived in the Swabian metropolis in the morning. On her way from the airport she got into a traffic jam. But nothing can shock her these days. “Angie” in luck.
Kerber feels perfect – and 100 percent at peace with herself after her great moment in London. “This Wimbledon victory, I really wanted it. Now I can say that I am complete in what I always wanted to achieve,” she said at the first press conference on German soil after her victory on Saturday evening in the Cathedral of Tennis.
When I held them up, this is the moment I dreamed of for 30 years,” said Kerber, who smiled a little about the match point against Serena Williams (USA): “I shivered my serve and she made the mistake.
The promised barbecue party with grandpa and grandma in Poland will take place on Tuesday evening. And coach Wim Fissette has not yet said when he will welcome his protégé to the next training session: “We are still negotiating,” revealed Porsche brand ambassador Kerber, who will have to give more than ten TV interviews at the media marathon over the rooftops of Stuttgart.
In Wimbledon, immediately after their triumph on Saturday evening, there were 19 conversations in 65 minutes in the catacombs of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club. But Kerber seems to have matured compared to 2016, when she was almost crushed by the bustle after her first major title in Australia.
“The most important thing I reward myself with is time,” Kerber stressed, “this time for me, I will enjoy it like never before.” Only at the WTA tournament in Montreal will she return to the tour and play the event in Cincinnati before the US Open. Kerber announced that she will focus even more on the big tournaments in the future. A bit like Roger Federer.
“I realized this isn’t about the world rankings or anything. For me it’s about experiencing those moments on the Centre Court, playing a Wimbledon finale. That’s what you fight for and that’s what you get up for in the morning.” It’s about “playing against the big players on the big courts.”
The fourth in the world rankings is aware that “I won’t win every match now”. Setbacks will come again this time, “but I learned from 2017, if I hadn’t experienced this difficult phase, I wouldn’t be sitting here now as Wimbledon winner”. Say it – and looked at her silver reward next to her. Full of satisfaction and pride. According to the motto: What comes next is a bonus!
Kerber knows that she owes a lot to her new coach Wim Fissette. But she is also convinced: “I was the biggest set screw myself. That I managed to find the motivation after 2017,” said Kerber, who was temporarily dropped from the top 20, describing the setbacks that ultimately made her even stronger. The coronation now followed in the lawn Mecca, the theater of their very personal dreams.
The bowl, which is made of silver and gold, will now have its due place at home. “I’m adding her to my other two Grand Slam cups. Into the living room – into the middle, which it is a special bowl.”