Nur-Sultan (dpa) – Angelique Kerber is required. And the best German tennis player knows how complicated this task is. In what has been a moderate season so far, the 34-year-old is leading the German tennis women in Kazakhstan.
On Friday and Saturday in Nur-Sultan, on the red sand she loves less, Kerber is responsible for ensuring that a defeat does not threaten relegation from the world group. Only the winners reach the final week of the team competition, whose not-so-new name Billie Jean King Cup still has some getting used to.
“It would be a dream for Germany to win the Billie Jean King Cup, but realistically we are right at the beginning with the upcoming preliminary round and are not necessarily among the favourites,” said Kerber of the German Press Agency. The final week, like the relegation round, does not rise until November.
Kerber “in the here and now”
She is looking forward to the upcoming tasks, said Kerber. She wanted to “do everything in the here and now” to “get the best out of me”. The long-standing German number one answered the sentence with the “here and now” when asked about her thoughts about her future. There is always speculation about a possible end to her career, also because things are no longer going as well as in her successful years in 2016 and 2018, when she triumphed at the Australian Open and the US Open as well as in Wimbledon.
It is no longer a matter of course that the three-time Grand Slam tournament winner defeats a top 20 player. But it could now be in the likely encounter with the world number 19. Yelena Rybakina arrive. Kazakh number two, Julia Putintseva, world number 52, is also considered an unpleasant opponent.
How strong Kerber plays in her first clay court games of the season is just as questionable as with her teammates. After her operation on her knee, Laura Siegemund came back impressively with two titles in doubles, but not yet in singles. A single would be a debut for Anna-Lena Friedsam as well as for Jule Niemeier.
Only a few matches in 2022
Kerber only played a few matches this year. The corona virus had the world number 17. slowed down in preparation for the new year. It was only in March that she achieved the first of only two victories so far. Most recently she lost to the new number one Iga Swiatek from Poland and Naomi Osaka from Japan – strong opponents.
The fact that Kerber puts herself at the service of the team, even if the trip to Kazakhstan is more of a hindrance to her personal ambitions, is to her credit. After all, the top-class home tournament in Stuttgart begins on Monday.
“The older she gets, the more relaxed she becomes,” explained team boss Rainer Schüttler, praising Kerber’s fitness and noting that she still enjoys tennis: “She definitely wants to when she’s still playing – she will not even younger – to achieve the best possible.” The 45-year-old is one of the trainers with whom Kerber has also worked on the individual tour in recent years. Since this season, the former world number one has been traveling without a permanent coach – and (still) thinks it’s the right way.
“Maybe that will change again at a later date, but at the moment I’m satisfied with how my team is set up,” said Kerber. Her tennis friend Andrea Petkovic is missing from the German team in Kazakhstan. Kerber’s longtime companion had to withdraw due to an adductor injury.