Angelique Kerber has returned to Germany after her historic Wimbledon triumph. At a press conference in Stuttgart, she formulated clear goals for the future, classified the victory on Church Road and also said something about her chances for the career grand slam.
“It’s not about rankings,” said the newly crowned Wimbledon winner at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, referring to a possible return to the top of the world rankings. “Of course that would be nice, but that’s nothing I need tomorrow,” said Kerber, who was not stingy with clearly formulated goals when she returned to Germany.
She wants to relive moments like last Sunday’s final against Serena Williams, so she will focus on the big tournaments and grand slams in the future and choose her tournaments more consciously: “These are the moments you get up for in the morning,” Kerber said.
Nor did the 30-year-old from Kiel make any secret of the personal significance of the Wimbledon title, which clearly differs from the other Grand Slam titles in Australia and the USA: “For me this is the highlight of my career,” said Kerber, who was glad that the victory in Wimbledon was not her first victory at a Grand Slam: “Now I know what to expect and can only enjoy it”.
On the way to the “climax of her career” she had been the biggest adjusting screw. After the messed up year 2017, she found her motivation again and set herself the goal of winning the title on Church Road before the season: “I said to myself:’I still want this Wimbledon title.’ I was on a mission for two weeks.”
Before the upcoming tournaments in Montreal, Cincinnati and the US Open, she wants to take a longer break: “My reward is the time,” said the three-time Grand Slam winner, who learned her lessons from the 2016 titles and the 2017 slump in performance.
“I know the next defeat is coming soon,” Kerber predicted. However, she did not rule out a career grand slam, which she would complete with a victory at the French Open. “I’ve already shown that I can play well on sand,” says the Kiel native: “Maybe Paris will join us.”
Just one day after her victory over Serena Williams on Church Road, Angelique Kerber told the tabloid Bild-Zeitung that a premature career end was out of the question: “Quitting is a long way off. This is not an issue at all,” said the woman from Kiel at the request of the tabloid.
The picture had tried to draw a parallel between Kerber and the former Formula 1 world champion Nico Rosberg, who had ended his career after “fulfilling his childhood dream”.
By winning the Wimbledon final over Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber has climbed to fourth place in the world rankings. The 30-year-old thus improved by six places and is better than she has been for eleven months.
Julia Görges, who failed at Church Road against Kerbers final opponent Serena Williams in the semi-final, also made a leap forward by three places and improved to tenth place in the world rankings.