Angelique Kerber beamed and was cheered by the audience on Center Court. Getting into the second round of Indian Wells was normal for her for years – because she last had to compete in the first round in 2011. Since then, the former number one in the tennis world has always had a bye. However, a lot has changed in the 36-year-old’s life since the birth of her daughter Liana a year ago and her return to the WTA tour in January.
“Every single match you win is of course special. Especially now here in Indian Wells, one of my favorite tournaments, where I always played well and had great memories. And of course it’s even nicer if you win the first round straight away,” said Kerber after Wednesday’s 6:3, 6:4 win against Petra Martic from Croatia. It was the eighth game since the comeback – and only the second win.
Kerber: “I have to be patient”
At the United Cup in the run-up to the Australian Open she won against Ajla Tomljanovic from Australia, but was then eliminated in the first round at the Australian Open, just as she was at the tournament in Linz a month ago. In the hard court tournament in Indian Wells, which is endowed with 9.26 million US dollars (around 8.5 million euros), she will next face tenth-seeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
“I have to be patient to get back to my top level, and I am,” emphasized Kerber in the Californian desert. “I said I would draw the first conclusion after three or four months, and at the moment I’m not even thinking about it, I’m just trying to continue to live in the here and now.” From California we go to Miami, “and Then I’ll make a conclusion,” she said.
There is no doubt, at least for two people with a trained eye, that the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner can get back to an absolute top level despite all the difficulties at the start: Andrea Petkovic and Olympic champion Alexander Zverev.
“I see a lot of good things in her game and don’t think she’s that far away,” Petkovic told the German Press Agency. “Our perception was distorted when Jelina Switolina and Caroline Wozniacki made the comeback as mothers so quickly. These were absolute exceptions. I think Angie’s path is more normal,” said the former professional player and friend of Kerbers, who ended her own career in 2022.
Zverev said before his first own game in Indian Wells: “I’m happy that she can play really well again, and I think it’ll get even better.” Kerber just needs match fitness after an 18-month break. “I think she can go back up again.”
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If Kerber would probably have become uncomfortable a few years ago after two wins in eight games, her perception has changed since the birth of her daughter Liana. “I have actually become more relaxed and am trying to stop this perfectionism a little bit, so that you can make one or two mistakes and be a little more relaxed,” she said. “It’s a completely different perception, a completely different view. Winning and losing is no longer as dramatic as it used to be,” said the 36-year-old. But she still doesn’t care.
