On paper, Angelique Kerber is the top favourite at the WTA final in Singapore. Before her first match against Kiki Bertens, the 30-year-old talked about her separation from successful coach Wim Fissette.
Angelique Kerber grinned and shook her head barely noticeably. “I was the first to expect this question, and now it’s only the third,” said Germany’s best tennis player when the separation of coach Wim Fissette from the WTA final in Singapore was discussed in the media. Kerber said nothing about the background to this publicly much-discussed decision.
“I don’t want to go into too much detail, I just made that decision, and I certainly didn’t do it lightly,” the 30-year-old assured: “We had different views about the next steps in our cooperation, and that’s why I separated. She didn’t make it easy for herself: “I don’t just get up in the morning and announce something.”
Kerber added that she was very grateful to Fissette for the work she had done, after all she won Wimbledon with the Belgian and established herself in the top 3 of the world rankings again. A year ago, Kerber did not belong to the group of eight players who will play the last big title of the season in Singapore after their epidemic year of 2017, but in 2018 she is the best of the best, at least on paper, as a top seed.
However, whether she can really live up to her role as favourite in the three group matches against Kiki Bertens (Netherlands), French Open finalist Sloane Stephens (USA) and US Open winner Naomi Osaka (Japan) is questionable after the rather poor results recently. Behind Kerber’s current form is a question mark: since her Wimbledon victory in July, she has not reached the quarter-finals.
All too gladly she would like to go therefore with a feeling of success in the back into the short break up to the beginning of the season preparation at the end of November. “I like this format with the three group games,” she said in Singapore: “It gives you a chance to make up for it even after a defeat.” In their opening match on Monday against Halep substitute Kiki Bertens, Kerber is the favourite, while Stephens and Osaka are not necessarily among their favourite opponents.
In Singapore, Kerber is supported by Andre Wiesler, among others, who has been her hitting partner since 2014. How it continues afterwards is open – at least in the official version, which spread manager Alyosha throne and now Kerber himself. “I’ll think about that after the WTA final, then I’ll sit down with my team as usual and we’ll discuss everything in peace,” she said.
But it’s hard to imagine that Angelique Kerber still has no idea who the new name should be at her side. After all, she has big goals for 2019, including the title at the French Open, which she is the only one missing from her Grand Slam collection. Anyway, one thing is clear: “Wim Fissette’s off the hook, I’m not saying anything about that anymore.” She didn’t actually do it anyway.