A loud scream, a big smile, and the grandmother suppressed a tear in the stands: just in time for the start of the Grand Slam highlight on the “holy lawn” of London, Angelique Kerber has shown herself in great shape and her first title since her Wimbledon -Triumph 2018 won. The Kieler defeated the Czech Katerina Siniakova 6: 3, 6: 2 in her home game in Bad Homburg. “That means a lot to me today. This is my rubber, I felt very comfortable on grass and I’m just happy to have finally won a tournament again,” said a visibly exhausted Kerber after the game on ARD: “All of that Creating in front of my friends and family is all the more beautiful “.
Kerber got the big stage at the final: ARD showed the game live and in full length. “We want to offer a wide audience an exciting and high-quality range of programs,” said Marcus Augustin, head of sports at Hessischer Rundfunk, explaining the short-term decision. The anticipation for the final against Siniakova, who is eight years younger, was great: “I want to go out there and enjoy it,” said Kerber before the match. Against the Czech, who is considered a doubles specialist and won the French Open in this competition two weeks ago, she had previously won four out of five duels. In the semifinals Kerber had eliminated the top seeded and two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, also from the Czech Republic.
The three-time Grand Slam winner Kerber, who played her first final since June 2019, did not show her best tennis in front of 600 spectators, but benefited from many simple mistakes her opponent made in the first set. “Come on,” said the 33-year-old over and over, pushing herself for points.
In the second set Kerber looked increasingly tired, but the 76th in the world rankings failed to make a profit. On Friday, both players had put in a double shift and played both quarter-finals and semi-finals. After 1:25 hours, the best German tennis player transformed her third match ball. For Kerber, after the success at Wimbledon and the victory in Birmingham in 2015, it was the third title on grass and the 13th tournament victory overall. In Bad Homburg she also acted as a tournament ambassador, her management organized the premiere of the lawn tournament in the oldest tennis club on the European mainland.
After disappointing months with two first-round bankruptcies at the Australian and French Open, Kerber is now raising hopes for a strong tournament in London. The draw for the lawn classic in Wimbledon brought Kerber to the Serbian Nina Stojanovic as a grateful first opponent. “I’m traveling to Wimbledon without pressure,” emphasized Kerber after her final victory. But already in the third round there could be a new edition of the final three years ago against US superstar Serena Williams.