Angelique Kerber has brought a lot of attention to tennis in Germany with her Wimbledon victory. After the winning dance with Novak Djokovic she took a short break with her grandparents in Poland.
Chris de Burgh’s classic “Lady in Red” was played, and Angelique Kerber, in a long red evening dress, was not asked twice. After 20 seconds in the arms of Novak Djokovic, the dance of the two Wimbledon winners at the Champions Dinner was over again. Kerber still had fun: “The dancing was good, I like to do that anyway, but I didn’t necessarily expect it.
So there are still some imponderables in the life of Angie Kerber, who 22 years after the great Steffi Graf has finally won another Wimbledon victory for Germany. Dirk Hordorff, Vice President Sport in the German Tennis Federation (DTB) believes that she has done tennis in Germany a great favour. “Wimbledon is the most popular tournament,” Hordorff told SID: “A Wimbledon victory brings back those who usually only talk about the old days.”
Graf was delighted in the far away Las Vegas about “great performances that were to give our sport a boost”. Especially since Hordorff doesn’t see a player that Kerber could become really dangerous in the coming weeks and months. “I’m sure she’s the favorite at the US Open, I wouldn’t call any before her.” Hordorff also believes that the victory at the French Open, which would complete Kerbers career grand slam, can be achieved by his number one, who is now again number four in the world: “This is difficult, but not impossible.
Kerber’s Wimbledon victory will not be able to turn back the clock, but nobody should expect that in the age of social media. An average of 2.28 million watched the final live on ZDF on Saturday, which seems modest at first glance. At second glance, however, in connection with a market share of 13.6 percent, it can be considered a small success.
In addition to the pure TV audience, Kerber has achieved a lot for her sport. For several days, the woman from Kiel graced the front pages of almost all the major newspapers, was presented in a prominent position in the Tagesschau and the ZDF sports studio and caused reactions from the entire sports world. “We are at the beginning of a small boom,” said Hordorff, referring in this context to Alexander Zverev, third in the world rankings: “Something is happening in German tennis.
Meanwhile, Kerber made a brief visit to the grandparents in Poland on Monday before she is expected to attend a press conference in Stuttgart’s Porsche Museum on Tuesday. After that, the 30-year-old is ready for new sporting exploits.
“Stop is far away. That’s not an issue at all,” she told the tabloid “Bild-Zeitung. She won’t soon forget the match point against Serena Williams: “My physio showed it to me 15,000 times. At dinner on Instagram 50, 60 times. That went on all night.” Which only ended at four in the morning.
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