By Chris Oddo | Thursday August 24, 2017
Angelique Kerber can ease the pain of a surprisingly disappointing 2016 with a run at the U.S. Open.
Photo Source: AP
It has been a long, difficult year for Angelique Kerber. The German burst onto the scene in a massive way last year, winning two major titles, reaching eight tour-level finals and amassing a total of 66 wins. Those victories included a triumph against then World No.1 Serena Williams in the 2016 Australian Open final, as well as 12 wins over Top 10 foes.
🛑You Do Not Want to See this Photo of Petra Kvitova's Left Hand Before Surgery🛑
So, what happened this year?
Maybe it was pressure, maybe it was fatigue. Whatever the reason, Kerber has been unable to find the form that catapulted her to World No.1 last season.
The better the competition, the more Kerber has lost in 2017.
Last year Kerber went 41-15 against the Top 50; this year she has struggled mightily, going just 7-14. To put that in perspective, Kerber owns a 55 percent winning percentage against the WTA’s Top 50 (187-151) over the course of her career. This year she is winning at a 33 percent rate.
The top players are the ones that are hurting Kerber in 2017 (she owns an impressive 18-3 record against players ranked 51 or lower), but she still has a shot at redemption in New York and six-time U.S. Open champion Chris Evert thinks that Kerber can turn it around.
“Do I think she can turn it around, yes, I do think she can turn it around,” Evert told reporters during an ESPN conference call to promote the network’s coverage of the 2017 U.S. Open on Wednesday. “I don’t know if it’s going to be at the U.S. Open. But listen it’s all mental with her. She’s got the game. But she was playing with a lot more freedom and a lot more zip and a lot more confidence last year. But she does have the game if she can just not feel so tight in these matches and play with the freedom that we saw.”
Like many pundits, Evert saw promise in Kerber’s performance at Wimbledon, where the 29-year-old went toe-to-toe with eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the round of 16 before falling in three sets.
“Remember, she was the one at Wimbledon that had that really close match with Muguruza,” Evert said. “I think the turning point in Muguruza’s tournament. And I said that, I think it was a three-set match and it was whoever won that match would, that would turn their game around. And sure enough Muguruza was the one that won the match. I do think [Kerber] is close but she mentally has to sort of tweak a few things.”
Tweaking might be an understatement for a player that will enter her the year’s final major 0-9 against Top 20 competition in 2017. Kerber’s drop-off has been one of the more puzzling stories of the tennis season. With Serena Williams out of the mix since the Australian Open the women’s field has been more wide open than ever at the last two Grand Slams. But Kerber’s befuddling inability to beat top competition has kept her far from the deep end of too many draws.
As the defending champion in New York, she’ll get yet another chance to prove that this year is the aberration—not last year. In 2016 Kerber stood tall, capping off a brilliant Grand Slam season with her second major title after defeating Karolina Pliskova in the final. This year, she'll look to save face in what has been a highly disappointing campaign.