Wim Fissette is convinced that it is a nightmare for many players to play against his protégé Angelique Kerber.
Wim Fissette is not one who wants to make as cool a speech as possible. The Belgian is considered a quiet and extremely pleasant representative of his guild. This does not change the fact that he has a reputation as a merciless analyst who will not miss even the smallest detail. When the 38-year-old speaks and explains, he does so at a pleasantly pleasant volume. Rather quietly, but every single movement has its hands and feet – the listener quickly notices this.
It’s not easy to get a smart coach like Fissette enthusiastic. However, if the term “Wimbledon” is used, this changes abruptly. And since 13 July even a little more – on this sunny Saturday Angelique Kerber, the Fissette protégé since November 2017, won her third major title on the Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on the famous Church Road.
“To be honest: I think you can be a Grand Slam champion – or you can be a Wimbledon champion,” said Fissette recently at the WTA coach’s Media Day on the sidelines of the Premier 5 tournament in Cincinnati. What he meant: To win a major is something really great – but to triumph in Wimbledon is the ultimate in world tennis: “Everyone knows this tournament”.
And Fissette, who has already looked after exceptional players such as Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep and Johanna Konta, has long known what Kerber has to offer after more than eight months of working together.
“She’s certainly not the most spectacular player. There are others. But Angie is rock solid. She may not be the one you think is a three-time Grand Slam winner,” said Fissette, “but everyone hates playing against her. I’ve been there before. Every time I had to play Angie with my player, we thought: Ooh, hmm.”
Fissette praised the variability of the 30-year-old, which makes her a nightmare for many opponents. “It’s very unpleasant to play against her because she doesn’t usually make a lot of unforced mistakes. But if you don’t put pressure on Angie, she’ll take the initiative because she can do both: Defend strongly, but also attack strongly.”
Kerber failed last week in Montreal in her first match since the Wimbledon coup on Alizé Cornet (France). In Cincinnati, Madison Keys was the final destination. Even before the narrow defeat in three sets against last year’s US Open finalist, Fissette had already admitted her understanding for Kerber: “If you have a dream, and it suddenly comes true with the victory in Wimbledon, then it’s never easy and you need a little time to come to terms with it all”.
This week Kerber, unlike Julia Görges for example, will not compete in any more tournaments. The world ranking fourth is preparing intensively for the US Open starting on August 27th. “For me, it’s the big tournaments that count. I want to focus even more on this in the future,” said Angie after her success in the turf Mecca.