Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber

Full name Angelique Kerber
Country  Germany
Residence Puszczykowo, Poland
Born 18 January 1988
Bremen, West Germany
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro 2003
Plays Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $7,722,944
Singles
Career record 417–237 (63.76%)
Career titles 5 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest ranking No. 5 (22 October 2012)
Current ranking No. 14 (13 April 2015)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 4R (2013, 2014)
French Open QF (2012)
Wimbledon SF (2012)
US Open SF (2011)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (2012, 2013)
Olympic Games QF (2012)
Doubles
Career record 54–57
Career titles 0 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking No. 103 (26 August 2013)
Current ranking No. 398 (13 April 2015)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 1R (2008, 2011, 2012)
French Open 2R (2012)
Wimbledon 3R (2011)
US Open 3R (2012)
Team competitions
Fed Cup F (2014), Record 9–8
Last updated on: 13 April 2015.

Angelique Kerber (born 18 January 1988 in Bremen) is a German tennis player of Polish background.

Kerber has won five singles titles on the WTA tour, as well as eleven singles and three doubles on the ITF tour in her career. On 22 October 2012, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 5. On 26 August 2013, she peaked at world number 103 in the doubles rankings.

Having made her professional debut in 2003, Kerber was launched into stardom upon suddenly reaching the semifinals of the 2011 US Open, at which time she was ranked 92 in the world. Since then, she has broken into the Top 5 of the WTA Rankings and currently sits at world number 14. As such, Kerber is the second highest-ranked German on the WTA Tour behind Andrea Petkovic.

Personal life

Angelique Kerber was born in Bremen, to father Sławomir Kerber and mother Beata, and has one sister, Jessica. Both of her parents are German Polish. She started playing tennis aged three and eventually joined the junior circuit. She made inroads at events in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, but did not win a junior title before 2003, at which point she had already turned professional aged 15. Kerber speaks German, Polish and English.[1][2]

Career

2003–2007

In 2003, Kerber obtained her first top 100 victory by defeating Marion Bartoli in the qualifying draw of the WTA German Open.

In 2004, Kerber started the year by reaching the final of an ITF event in Warsaw, but lost to Marta Domachowska. She attained her first ITF title entering as a qualifier in Opole, defeating Elena Tatarkova in the final.

In 2005, Kerber competed in the ITF events and qualifying draws. She reached one final in Monzon, losing to Olena Antypina.

2006 was a more successful year for the German as she reached four ITF finals, winning three of them. She was runner-up in Přerov, but then won three events in Saguenay, Glasgow and Jersey. 2006 was also the year that Kerber attained her first WTA tour main draw victory, at the Gaz de France Stars, over world number 48 Romina Oprandi. She later lost to Ana Ivanovic.

2007 was a breakthrough year for Kerber as she won four titles. Having defended her title in Saguenay by defeating fellow German Sabine Lisicki, she won in Las Palmas, in Turkey, and again in Přerov. She also reached three other finals finishing as runner-up. 2007 was Kerber's Grand Slam debut as she competed in the 2007 French Open, losing to Elena Dementieva; 2007 Wimbledon, losing to Anna Chakvetadze; and the 2007 US Open, losing to Serena Williams; each in the first round. She reached her first main draw quarterfinal at the 2007 Ordina Open, before losing to eventual champion Anna Chakvetadze.

2008

In 2008 Kerber attained her first Grand Slam victory in the 2008 Australian Open by beating Maret Ani, before losing to Francesca Schiavone. She then reached the second round of the 2008 Pattaya Women's Open, the third round of the 2008 Pacific Life Open and the second round of 2008 Sony Ericsson Open. She also lost in the first rounds of the 2008 Estoril Open, the 2008 Qatar Total Open, the 2008 Qatar Telecom German Open and the 2008 French Open. She reached the second round at both the 2008 DFS Classic and the 2008 Ordina Open. She lost in the first round of the 2008 Wimbledon Championships to Elena Baltacha but went on to win back-to-back ITF titles in Spain and France.

2009

In 2009, Kerber only won three WTA main draw matches. On the ITF tour she won in Pozoblanco, Spain, defeating Kristína Kučová in the final.

2010

Kerber practicing

In 2010, Kerber qualified for the 2010 Australian Open where she reached her first third round in a Grand Slam by upsetting Olga Govortsova and 23rd seed Aravane Rezaï before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in a close three-setter. She then reached her first WTA tour final in 2010 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, losing to Mariana Duque Mariño after upsetting top-seed Gisela Dulko in the semifinal. She then reached the second round of the 2010 MPS Group Championships, losing to Varvara Lepchenko. She also reached the third round of the 2010 Family Circle Cup, losing to Daniela Hantuchová, and the quarterfinal of the 2010 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem losing to Renata Voráčová. At the 2010 French Open she lost in the second round to Aravane Rezaï. On grass, she reached the third round of the 2010 Aegon Classic, losing to eventual champion Li Na, and the first round of the 2010 UNICEF Open, losing to Justine Henin. She played in the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where she made it to the third round after defeating Sania Mirza and upsetting thirteenth seed Shahar Pe'er, but lost against Jarmila Groth.

2011: Breakthrough

Kerber playing at the 2011 US Open, where she made it to the semifinal

Kerber reached her first quarterfinal of the year at the start of the season at the 2011 Moorilla Hobart International, losing to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. That led to a six-match losing streak which lasted until the 2011 The Bahamas Women's Open, where she reached the final before losing to Anastasiya Yakimova. She then reached the second round at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Francesca Schiavone. Kerber lost in the first round of Wimbledon to 17 year old Laura Robson.

Kerber entered the 2011 US Open ranked 92nd in the world. After defeating young American Lauren Davis in three sets, she came up against the 12th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in round two and pulled off a shock 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 result to advance to the third round for the first time. There, she faced unseeded Russian Alla Kudryavtseva, winning in straight sets, and followed it up with victory in the fourth round against Monica Niculescu. Appearing in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, Kerber surprised 26th seed Flavia Pennetta in three sets to advance to the semifinal, where she lost against the ninth seed, and eventual champion, Samantha Stosur. Kerber reached a career high ranking of world number 34 after the tournament.

2012: Becoming a top 5 player

Kerber's first tournament was the 2012 ASB Classic. She defeated Marina Erakovic in the first round; fifth seed Julia Görges in the second round; and the top seed, Sabine Lisicki, in the quarterfinal, when Lisicki retired due to a back injury. She lost her semifinal match to fourth seeded Flavia Pennetta.

At the 2012 Australian Open, Kerber was the 30th seed. In the first round, she defeated the wildcard local Bojana Bobusic in straight sets. In the second round she faced Canadian Stéphanie Dubois and defeated her. In the third round, she faced fourth seed Maria Sharapova and lost, winning only three games in the match. As a result, Kerber rose to her career high singles ranking of world number 27.

At the 2012 Fed Cup, Kerber played for Germany against the Czech Republic, teaming up along Sabine Lisicki, Julia Görges and Anna-Lena Grönefeld. Her only rubber was a singles match which she played against Lucie Hradecká. She won the tie, producing Germany's only win in the play-off.

Her next tournament was the Open GDF Suez where she was the ninth seed, and where she won her first ever WTA title. In the first round, she faced Lucie Šafářová and won in straight sets. In round two, she faced Monica Niculescu and beat her too. She then played the number one seed Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, beating her in straight sets. This set up a semifinal match against the unseeded Yanina Wickmayer. Kerber won and reached her second WTA final. She played second seed Marion Bartoli in the final; Kerber won the first set in a tiebreak and went on to win the match despite losing the second set.

Kerber playing in the 2012 Indian Wells Masters where she made the semifinal

She then entered the 2012 Qatar Total Open where she met Sabine Lisicki again, defeating her in the first round. She lost to unseeded Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova in the second round. Kerber's next tournament was the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Receiving a bye in the first round as the 18th seed, she defeated the young Sloane Stephens in her opening match, advancing to the fourth round via default over Vania King, who withdrew, and then produced another win from behind against another dangerous player, Christina McHale. Kerber upset eighth seed Li Na in the quarterfinals before her successful week came to an end, losing to world number one and eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. Her ranking improved to a career high of number 14 as a result of that fantastic run in California. As the 14th seed at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Kerber was expected to do well there, but was upset in her opener (having received a bye in the first round) against Zheng Jie.

Kerber's next stop was the 2012 e-Boks Open in Copenhagen where she was the second seed. In her opener, she was pushed to the limit as she struggled past Stéphanie Foretz Gacon and then defeated Anne Keothavong and fellow German Mona Barthel. After that, she defeated third seed and former world number one Jelena Janković to reach her third career WTA final, and second of the year. She won the title, beating the top seed and defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

Kerber represented Germany in the Fed Cup against Australia in Stuttgart, losing to world number five Samantha Stosur in her first match before beating Olivia Rogowska. Germany lost the tie, however, at 3–2. At Stuttgart's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Kerber advanced to the quarterfinals, with wins over Roberta Vinci and sixth seed Caroline Wozniacki, before losing to third seed Petra Kvitová.

Kerber reached the final of the Eastbourne grass court tournament, losing to Tamira Paszek, having served for the championship at 5–3 in the deciding set and missing five match points.[3]

Kerber reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2012

At the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Kerber was seeded number eight. In the first round she defeated Lucie Hradecká. In the second round, she defeated the Russian Ekaterina Makarova. She also defeated the number 28 seed Christina McHale in round 3. In the fourth round, she won easily against the former world number one Kim Clijsters with an astonishing score of 6–1, 6–1,[4] booking a place in the quarterfinals in just 49 minutes. In the quarterfinal, she beat fellow German and 15th seeded Sabine Lisicki in three sets, having being down 3–5 in the third.[5] In the semifinal, she lost to number three seed Agnieszka Radwańska.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Kerber was ranked number seven. She beat Petra Cetkovská in the first round, Tímea Babos in the second round and Venus Williams in the third, before losing to number one seed Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals. Her first tournament of the 2012 US Open Series was the 2012 Rogers Cup, where she lost in the third round to Roberta Vinci. She then played the 2012 Western & Southern Open, beating Tímea Babos in the second round and Andrea Hlaváčková in the third round. In the quarterfinals, Kerber beat Serena Williams for the first time, winning in straight sets. This snapped Williams's 19-match winning streak. Kerber then defeated Petra Kvitová in the semifinal. However, she fell to Li Na in the final in three sets. At the US Open, Kerber, seeded sixth, struggled to victory over unseeded Venus Williams in the second round. She lost in the fourth round to Sara Errani, the number ten seed from Italy.

Kerber's next tournament after the US Open was the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She made it to the semifinals before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska. At the China Open, she was seeded sixth and made it to the quarterfinals, but retired against Maria Sharapova. At the season's conclusion, Kerber competed in her first year-end championships, where she was seeded fifth. She exited the tournament in the round robin stage, without winning any matches. She ended 2012 at no. 5 in the world.

2013: Continued success

Kerber began 2013 at the 2013 Brisbane International where she was seeded 4th. She defeated Anna Tatishvili and Monica Puig before falling lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals. She then competed in Sydney as the second seed where she lost to Dominika Cibulkova in the semifinals. Kerber reached the fourth round of the 2013 Australian Open, making this the furthest she has ever progressed in the tournament. Along the way, she defeated Elina Svitolina, Lucie Hradecka and Madison Keys. She was subsequently defeated by Ekaterina Makarova after struggling with a back injury. Kerber then lost in her first match of both the Qatar Total Open and in Dubai to Mona Barthel and Roberta Vinci respectively. [6]

Kerber at the 2013 US Open.

Kerber would then reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells,[7] and the third round in Miami, losing to Caroline Wozniacki and Sorana Cirstea respectively. Kerber then reached her first final of 2013 in Monterrey as the top seed. She lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets.[8]

To kick off the clay court season, Kerber represented Germany in their Fed Cup World Group play-off against Serbia. After defeating Bojana Jovanovski in her first rubber, Kerber fell to Ana Ivanovic in straight sets. This was immediately followed by a run to the semi-finals at Stuttgart, where she fell in three sets to defending (and eventual) champion Maria Sharapova.[9] Kerber then played the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open as the 6th seed. She reached the quarterfinals after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova but was then being defeated by Ivanovic, again in straight sets; it was Kerber's second loss against her in three weeks.[10]At the French Open, Kerber reached the fourth round, only to be beaten there by unseeded former champion Kuznetsova in three sets.

Kerber was the 3rd seed at the 2014 Aegon International but lost to Ekaterina Makarova in round two. Kerber then made an early exit from Wimbledon where she was a semifinalist the year before, losing in three sets to Kaia Kanepi in the second round.[11]

Kerber's US Open series campaign with a quarterfinal appearance in Washington where she lost to Magdalena Rybarikova. She then suffered an early loss in Toronto in the hands of Slovak Dominika Cibulkova. At Cincinnati, Kerber lost to Li Na in the third round. At the 2013 New Haven Open, she lost to Elena Vesnina in the second round after having a first round bye. Kerber then lost in the fourth rounds of the US Open to Carla Suárez Navarro. She defeated Lucie Hradecka, rising star Eugenie Bouchard and Kanepi en route.

In September, Kerber reached her 2nd final of 2013 at Tokyo but lost to Petra Kvitova in three sets. The following week at the China Open, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to Agnieszka Radwanska. At the 2013 Generali Ladies Linz, Kerber won her third WTA title, beating two-time champion Ana Ivanovic and filled the last spot at the WTA Championships. In her second outing at the WTA Championships, Kerber did not advance past the round robin stage. She defeated Radwanska but suffered losses to Serena Williams and Kvitova. She ended the year as world no. 9.

2014: Steady ranking

Kerber's first singles event of the season was at the 2014 Brisbane International, reaching the quarterfinals. In Sydney, Kerber made the final, only to lose to Bulgarian qualifier and 107th ranked Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets.[12] In the fourth round of the 2014 Australian Open, she was defeated by Italian Flavia Pennetta in three sets. At the 2014 Open GDF Suez in Paris, she made it to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual tournament champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Kerber played for Germany in the Fed Cup in February. She contributed to defeating Slovakia by winning both of her singles rubbers, defeating Dominika Cibulková and Daniela Hantuchová respectively. Kerber then reached the final in Doha, losing to Simona Halep. Then, at the 2014 BNP Paribas Open where she was the 5th seed, she lost to María Teresa Torró Flor in her opening match after receiving a first round bye. However, she stepped it up in Miami by reaching the quarterfinals where she lost to world number 1 Serena Williams in straight sets.

Kerber retired in her opening match against Caroline Garcia at Madrid due to a back injury. She fell early again in Rome, losing to Czech Petra Cetkovská in three sets. Kerber played one more tournament before the French Open at Nuremberg where she was the top seed. She fell in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Karolína Plíšková. At the 2014 French Open, Kerber lost to Eugenie Bouchard in the fourth round.

Kerber at the 2014 Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Kerber reached the final at Eastbourne, losing to Madison Keys in three sets. At Wimbledon, Kerber was seeded 9th and defeated Pole Urszula Radwańska in the first round. Afterwards she defeated Heather Watson and 2013 semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens to reach the fourth round, where defeated Maria Sharapova. In the quarterfinals she lost to Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in straight sets.

In July, Kerber participated in Stanford where she was the 3rd seed. She had a first round bye and faced rising American Coco Vandeweghe in her opening match whom which she defeated in 3 sets. Then she defeated Garbine Muguruza and Varvara Lepchenko to reach the final, her 4th final of 2014. There she faced home favourite Serena Williams and lost despite having a lead in the first set. The following week, she played in Montreal where she was the 6th seed. She received a first round bye again. She defeated Caroline Garcia before losing to the resurging Venus Williams in a tough three setter. Kerber was the sixth seed at the 2014 Western & Southern Open and won her second round match against Makarova in straight sets after receiving a first round bye. She then lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the third round. Kerber also lost in the third round of the US Open to unseeded 17-year-old Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, after having defeated Ksenia Pervak and Alla Kudryavtseva in the first and second rounds respectively.

Kerber next participated at the 2014 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she was the top seed. She had a first round bye. She reached the semifinals by defeating Elina Svitolina and Dominika Cibulkova before losing to eventual champion Ana Ivanovic. At the 2014 Wuhan Open, Kerber defeated Zarina Diyas and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova to reach the quarterfinals. She then lost to Svitolina. The following week at the China Open, Kerber's chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals came to end when she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in round 3. Kerber did not qualify for the WTA Finals but entered the tournament as an alternate. Kerber finished 2014 by representing Germany in the Fed Cup final. She lost her first match to Lucie Safarova in straight sets. In her next match, she faced fellow Top 10 Petra Kvitova, despite losing the first set tiebreak, she avoided a second set bagel by coming back to win it 6-4. She ended up losing the match when Kvitova launched her comeback from 1-4 down in the third set, to win it 6-4, giving the Czech team the title. She finished the year at world no. 10.

2015: Fall from the Top 10 and revival

Kerber began the 2015 season at the 2015 Brisbane International, in the process reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Elina Svitolina in straight sets. She then beat Lesia Tsurenko in the first round of the 2015 Apia International Sydney and went to reach the semifinals before losing to Karolína Plíšková. At the 2015 Australian Open, she suffered a first round loss to Irina-Camelia Begu, it was the first time Kerber lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 2011. Kerber then represented Germany in the Fed Cup where the Germans faced Australia in round 1. She lost her 1st match to Jarmila Gajdosova in 3 sets but then defeated Samantha Stosur in straight sets in her next match. At the 2015 Proximus Diamond Games, Kerber received a first round bye but suffered a shocking loss to Francesca Schiavone in her opener. Following the loss, Kerber dropped out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2012.

At the 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships, Kerber was the 7th sees and had a first round bye. She reached the third round after defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova but then lost to Flavia Pennetta in 3 sets. At the 2015 Qatar Total Open, Kerber drew wild card Victoria Azarenka in the first round and lost in straight sets.

In March, Kerber was seeded 13th in Indian Wells and received a first round bye. However, she fell to Sloane Stephens in her opening match. At the Miami Open, Kerber was once again the 13th seed and had a first round bye. She overcame Brit Heather Watson in the second round to face Kuznetsova but lost in 3 sets.

At the 2015 Family Circle Cup, Kerber was seeded 5th. She overcame a 4-2 third set deficit to beat Evgeniya Rodina and then cruised past Lara Arruabarrena to reach the last eight. Her run continued with a win over Irina-Camelia Begu in two tiebreak sets, with Kerber saving set points in both sets, and a straight sets win over fellow German and defending champion Andrea Petkovic. With the win over Petkovic, Kerber reached her first final of the year. Kerber faced home favourite Madison Keys and fought back from a 4-1 third set defecit to win in 3 sets, claiming her 4th WTA title and her first since Linz in October 2013. This was the equal biggest title of her career (2012 Paris Indoors) and her first title on clay.

Kerber then played for Germany against Russia in the semifinals of the Fed Cup. She did not play on the first day, but on the second day she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, with the loss of one game. The win however was not enough as Germany lost in the doubles allowing Russia to advance to the final.

At the 2015 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Kerber was unseeded and started her run by beating lucky loser Alexa Glatch in straight sets. In the second round she beat Maria Sharapova in a three-set blockbuster, ending Sharapova's win streak at the tournament that started back in 2012. The win also made Kerber only the second person after Ana Ivanovic to beat Sharapova on clay other than Serena Williams since 2011. She then beat Ekaterina Makarova and Madison Brengle in straight sets in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively. In the final she came from a set down and 5-3 down in the final set to beat Caroline Wozniacki 3-6 6-1 7-5, beating her second top 5 player of the week. This was the equal biggest title of her career (2012 Paris Indoors and 2015 Family Circle Cup) and saw her extend her winning streak on clay to 11 matches for the season.

Career statistics

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles

Tournament2006200720082009201020112012201320142015SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A Q1 2R 1R 3R 1R 3R 4R 4R 1R 0 / 7 11–8
French Open A 1R 1R Q2 2R 1R QF 4R 4R 0 / 7 11–7
Wimbledon A 1R 1R Q2 3R 1R SF 2R QF 0 / 7 12–7
US Open A 1R Q1 2R 1R SF 4R 4R 3R 0 / 7 14–7
Win–Loss 0–0 0–3 1–3 1–2 5–4 5–4 14–4 10–4 12–4 0–1 0 / 28 48–29

Doubles

Tournament2007200820102011201220132014SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R 1R 1R 0 / 3 0–3
French Open 1R 1R 2R 1R 0 / 4 1–4
Wimbledon 1R 3R 1R 0 / 3 2–3
US Open 1R 1R 3R 0 / 3 2–3
Win–Loss 0–1 0–1 0–3 2–3 3–4 0–1 0 / 13 5–13

References

External links

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