[BillFromRichmond]

This time last year, out at Roland Garros Round 1. Out at Wimbledon Round 1 to Laura Robson!

Ranked 107 going into Dallas the week before the US Open. Makes the semis there, after going through QUALIFYING, backs it up with the semis in New York.

Has been a roll since. Won match #39 of the year today and goes to London next week seeded #8!

 

[DragonFlame]

truly is amazing, most improved player by far. Seriously though, her last 6 months have been SICK. It´s gone so fast i really don´t know what to say about it. And she´s now doing well on grass too. Wimbledon still to come and then there´s the whole summer hardcourt season before the usopen to get even more points. If she keeps this up i really can´t see her not make the YEC.

I just hope she won´t be the next chackvetadze...

 

[Potato]

She definitely will get Most Improved Player/Newcomer of the Year.

 

[tkutsaar]

I guess this begets the question: Is Angelique Kerber the real deal or is her success since the USO a fluke and she will soon just slip back into WTA obscurity from whence she had sprung? I like to think it’s the former. I noticed because of her current torrid streak she has for the first time in her career this year played against Sharapova, Azarenka and Kvitova and has held her own against these current top players. She is 1-2 against Sharapova, 0-1 against Vika (a close 2 set loss), and 1-1 against Kvitova. As for Agnieszka Radwanska, Aga was a victim in Angie’s USO semi final run, but Angie fell to Aga in Beijing during the Pole’s double Asian sweep. For good measure, Angie has two victories against Caro this year, but I know you Caro haters would not be impressed by this factoid.

As I watched her QF match against Makarova which turned out to be a routine NID affair, I was startled to hear mentioned by the commentators that Angie is this year 15-0 in three set matches. WOW!

 

[Aussie_Fanatic]

She definitely will get Most Improved Player/Newcomer of the Year.

Would definitely be most deserving

 

[M.P]

i wonder how her legs going to be ext 2 years, she is RUNNING all the time. how long her leg going to last. and i can't wait the USO come and pressure comes

 

[MoonballPusher]

I really don't know where her amazing run since USO 2011 has come from. I honestly thought her SF run there was going to be a total fluke and she would go back to where she was before that. But she just keeps getting better and better. I do recall she was a promising junior who's career hadn't panned out until now? Who knows, but it goes to show you can change a lot in a year. And perhaps the question is: What did Kerber change to bring her from #107 in the world to #8?

 

[joy division]

I really don't know where her amazing run since USO 2011 has come from. I honestly thought her SF run there was going to be a total fluke and she would go back to where she was before that. But she just keeps getting better and better. I do recall she was a promising junior who's career hadn't panned out until now? Who knows, but it goes to show you can change a lot in a year. And perhaps the question is: What did Kerber change to bring her from #107 in the world to #8?

Kerber was seriously asking her tennis career after her loss against Robson at Wimbledon last year.
Her attitude on court was just horrible and she was not fit. Interestingly she had not won a 3 setter for about a year at that time.
In result and at a hint from Andrea Petkovic, she decided to join the Waske/Schüttler tennis academy at Offenbach and was working there intensively (mostly on her fitness) for about 2 months.
Dallas was her first tournament after that.

 

[MoonballPusher]

Kerber was seriously asking her tennis career after her loss against Robson at Wimbledon last year.
Her attitude on court was just horrible and she was not fit. Interestingly she had not won a 3 setter for about a year at that time.
In result and at a hint from Andrea Petkovic, she decided to join the Waske/Schüttler tennis academy at Offenbach and was working there intensively (mostly on her fitness) for about 2 months.
Dallas was her first tournament after that.

Simply amazing that a change in coaching and training environment can make such a big difference in someone's results. Of course the improvement in fitness also helps tremendously. I'm just amazed by Kerber - she's not just some journeywoman who got lucky, there was definitely a lot of talent there just waiting to be unleashed.

 

[CuteKoala]

To be honest, I used to dislike Angelique because of her stupid ambitions to represent Poland. However, I've come to change my mind. Angelique is a great player and a very sweet girl. :yeah: Moreover, I'm pretty sure that she is no longer interested in representing Poland.

 

[MarkNL]

She can play so GOAT at times

She has indeed improved so much, and then to remember she lost to Robson R1 at Wimbledon last year

 

[pov]

Good point. I used to think of Kerber as a bye.

 

[jj74]

It's good to see that someone who came as a surprise at a Slam, is able to sustain that hype and become a threat to top players.
I remember a lot of people saying that she will dissapear after her US Open semis, but she is doing great this year, even in the big tournaments

 

[C-Woz-A-Rod]

The way you have put this into perspective, its really incredible to see how far she has come over the past year.

From a first round exit at Wimbledon last year, to a possible contender this year is pretty incredible.

We will be seeing a lot more of her I reckon, she has come on leaps and bounds; however I just don't think she has the game to challenge for a major title yet, she can be listed as a contender along with 20 other players in all honesty, but an actual winner of a Grand Slam looks doubtful at the minute.

 

[Jogi]

what a difference fitness and confidence makes, the talent has always been there
hope she won't burn out due to the amount of matches and gamestyle she plays, hoping for a smart schedule

 

[Ryan]

I think it shows just how important confidence can be, especially to female players. We hear coaches all the time say how mentally weak/fragile they can be - so I think a lot of her success can be attributed to everything "clicking" in NY, and how it gave her confidence in her shots and decision making. She really hasn't done anything new to explain a huge jump, except everything falling into place.

 

[Synth]

I expect her to do well up until US Open. Then we'll see what she's made of.

It's always really fun to watch players rise though. Then it's a question of how well they handle the pressure of defending points vs. gaining points.

 

[aloeball]

It's pretty cool. I've seen her play before when she was ranked 50 or whatnot against Kutzy at the AO. I was soo surprised she was ranked so low.

Then out of the blue she developed into a top 10 player. She definitely had the raw talent - now she has the fitness, consistency and mentality of a top player.

I love her style because she just gets so much from her body weight lol

 

[Patrick345]

I think it shows just how important confidence can be, especially to female players. We hear coaches all the time say how mentally weak/fragile they can be - so I think a lot of her success can be attributed to everything "clicking" in NY, and how it gave her confidence in her shots and decision making. She really hasn't done anything new to explain a huge jump, except everything falling into place.

1.Kerber changed a lot.

2.Of course coaches always say the players are mentally weak/fragile, so they don´t have to take any responsibility for the failure of the player.

 

[StoneRose]

Angie improved her game also compared to USO last year. She's very consistent now winning almost all of her matches against lower ranked players.