The Germans are a popular pick on this series as today, we discuss Angelique Kerber. If you have been keeping up with this series, it started off with Kerber's countrywoman, Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki's latest runs in Indian Wells and Miami have answered some of the questions that were posed about her, on the other hand, Kerber has had disappointing showings in the last two WTA Premier Mandatories, as we continue to witness her fall down the rankings. On the year, Kerber is a woeful 8-9 on the season and has won only two matches in her last five tournaments. Unlike Lisicki, Kerber is not going to wow you with her power. The way Kerber beats you is by hitting angles and being lefty really helps the cause. Also, she is a very defensive player compared to most of the players in the top twenty. Due to her poor start this season, she has fallen out of the top ten and is falling quickly. So here are the questions that we have about Kerber: 1. Will she ever get back into the top ten? 2. Will she ever make a make a Grand Slam final?

2011 was Kerber's breakthrough season starting off the year with a quarterfinal appearance in Hobart, but the rest of her was fairly quiet until the 2011 US Open. At the US Open, she defeated Agnieszka Radwanska and Flavia Pennetta on her way to her first ever Grand Slam semifinals. She would be defeated by eventual champion, Sam Stosur, in three sets, but this run was her coming out party to the tennis world. 2012 was likely her best season in her career due to her phenomenal results throughout the year. Kerber won titles in Open GDF Suez and e-Boks Open in Copenhagen. At the French Open, she would have her best showing ever there this year as a quarterfinalist, and would be a WImbledon semifinalist after making the Eastbourne finals. She performed well on the American hardcourt swing making the semifinals of indian Wells and Cincinnati. She would qualify for WTA Year-End Championships, but did not win a single match. She finished the year ranked fifth. 

The last two years Kerber has shown her consistency by remaining in the top ten for these last two years. In 2013, she would reach the fourth round of all but one Grand Slam, Wimbledon. In 2013, she made three finals, Monetrrey, Tokyo, and Linz. With her title in Linz, that helped her qualify for the Year-End Championships for a second consecutive year, however, just like the previous year, she was knocked out in the round robin stage. Last year, Kerber was sadly the bridesmaid more than the bride finishing a runner-up in all four tournaments she reached finals in (Sydney, Doha, Eastbourne, and Stanford). She would fair just slightly better in the majors as the US Open was the only major she failed to get past the third round. The highlight of her season in the slams was a quarterfinals appearance at Wimbledon. 

Now, we go back to answer the questions. Will Kerber return to the top ten? Although she is in the prime of her career, there are just too many players much better than her on a consistent basis for her to make a return to the top ten. Also, there are the likes of veterans such as Venus Williams and Jelena Jankovic, also that have passed her and are aiming for the top ten at some point this year. Next, will Kerber make a Grand Slam final? To continue off of the last question, with so many players who are playing better than her and play much more agressive tennis than her, it would be extremely surprising to see Kerber get to a Grand Slam final. If she were to get there, a little bit of magic would need to happen as well as an extremely favorable draw.