Her American opponent, Madison Keys, didn’t stand a chance against German former No. 1 Angelique Kerber. Having advanced to the semifinals, Kerber is one of the favorites to win the first Grand Slam of the season.There was a time when this was her territory. Here, she drove her opponents to distraction. She hardly showed any emotion and she hardly made any mistakes. She was so dominant, that the player on the other side of the net was intimidated, whether she wanted to be or not – and in the end, would wind up leaving the court as the loser.
That’s the way it was in most recent years for Serena Williams at the Australian Open. Despite her success Angelique Kerber was never able to achieve such dominance.
Dispatched in short order
Things were different on this Wednesday: The 30-year-old German needed just 51 minutes to dispatch of Madison Keyes 6-1, 6-2.
Her 14th victory in her last 14 matches in Australia (following the Hopman Cup in Brisbane and the preparatory tournament in Sydney) showed that Kerber had found her way again – a way that she had lost in 2017, making her once again one of the best, if not the best women’s player in the world. And doesn’t she just know it.
Thumbs up from Wim Fissette
A good deal of the credit for this transformation has to go to her new coach, Wim Fissette, who is one of the best on the women’s side. The Belgian coach is a master tactician, who is even better than Kerber’s longtime and former coach, Thorben Beltz. He also happens to be the former coach of her semifinal opponent, Simona Help.
“I’m sure he will watch her match,” Kerber said in the post-match, on-court interview. Fissette just smiled and gave her the thumbs up.
Her serve, which used to be one of her weaknesses, no longer seems to be a problem. Fissette has changed her motion slightly, which among other things has brought more stability to her throw and in turn allowed her to generate more power on her serve.
Until now, Kerber’s defensive two-handed backhand, which she digs out from an almost sitting position, had been her most important shot. In her match against Keys, though, she dominated with the topspin of her cross-court forehands, which foiled her opponent every time.
Baseline overhead smash
During the second set, Kerber reached the level of dominance often displayed by Serena Williams, who has given this year’s Australian Open a pass following the birth of her first child. In the second set, after Keys had taken her only break of the match, Kerber came back with a smash from the baseline to take a 5-2 lead. The German then gave out a yell and clenched her fist in a show of determination.
From this point on, it was all over for Keys. Kerber needed just 22 minutes to complete the first set and a further 29 for the second.
“It’s always difficult to play against Madison,” was the always polite Kerber’s kind commentary on her opponent’s play on this afternoon in Melbourne. By that time Keys, who reached last year’s US Open final, had long since disappeared into the catacombs of the arena – passing the portraits of the tournament’s past champions. Serena Williams is one of them, but so is Kerber. Based on her performance in the first Grand Slam of the season, a return to the top 10 in the women’s rankings is on.
