2016 WTA Finals player profile: Angelique Kerber

After one of the best seasons in recent memory, Angelique Kerber will look to end a dream year on the highest of highs at the prestigious BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global, an event she has now qualified for a total of four times in the last five years.

Kerber’s Dream 2016 Season: A Review

In a year that has seen her win an Olympic silver medal and two Grand Slams, rack up 59 wins in 76 matches and more than eight million dollars in prize money alone, Kerber has enjoyed not only the best season of her career, but also one of the best seasons in recent memory, thanks to a number of significant improvements in her game and an unwavering level of self-confidence throughout the year.

 

 

 

It all started in Brisbane where, as the fourth seed, Kerber kickstarted her season, coming from a set down to down the unpredictable Camila Giorgi before cruising to the final, notching straight-set wins over Madison Brengle, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Carla Suárez Navarro in the process, before falling handily to a red-hot Victoria Azarenka in the showpiece.

That loss seemed to only spur on the Kerber charge at the year’s first major, but without a couple of major speed bumps along the way. In her first round match, the German already found herself on the brink of elimination at the hands of Misaki Doi before saving a match point and turning the match around on a dime. From there, the seventh seed won five matches in a row without dropping a set, en route to her first Grand Slam final, earning victories over the likes of Johanna Konta and Victoria Azarenka (for the first time) in the process. For her first Grand Slam title, the German would have to get past the biggest test of them all: world number one Serena Williams. Remarkably, against all odds, Kerber played the match of her life to stun Williams and claim her first Grand Slam title at the age of 28.

 

 

 

Kerber would later carry this momentum into the early stages of the clay court season after finally discovering the pressures of being a top player, and being expected to find a way to win day in and day out, even when not at her absolute best. Despite going a perfect 6-0 in indoor clay court matches, the German disappointingly won just one outdoor clay court match in four tournaments, consequently resulting in opening-round exits in Madrid, Rome, and at Roland Garros, in one of the most perplexing statistics of Kerber’s season.

After struggling to find her groove midway through the season, it all seemed to change on the grass of the All England Club where Kerber unexpectedly powered through the draw en route to her first Wimbledon final, securing wins over the likes of Simona Halep and Venus Williams, without dropping a set in the process. Perhaps even more fittingly that it was Serena Williams, the woman she beat five months ago Down Under to secure her first Grand Slam title, who stood in her way of winning a second at SW19. In what promised to be another thoroughly entertaining clash, both players were evenly matched from the back of the court, but it was Williams who just seemed to have the upper hand this time around, claiming a decisive break in both sets to secure an astonishing 22nd Grand Slam title.

 

 

 

But that would be just the start of a dream summer on the North and South American hard courts, one that would result in the beginning of her reign as the new world number one as well as a second major title. Astonishingly, the German showed remarkable consistency, reaching the semifinals or better in all four of her hard court tournaments: Montréal, Rio, Cincinnati, and of course, the U.S. Open in New York.

By virtue of her staggering consistency for the better part of the 2016 season, Kerber managed to claim the number one ranking after Williams, who had occupied the top spot for more than three and a half years, lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinal. Already set to make her début as the new queen of women’s tennis, the 28-year-old German powered past Caroline Wozniacki just hours after Williams’ defeat to set up an intriguing clash with Pliskova, whom she would outlast in a three-set thriller in the sweltering humidity to claim her second Grand Slam title.

 

Despite failing to make it past the round of 16 at all three of her stops in the Asian swing this fall, Kerber will look to rebound in Singapore against the world’s very best, in hopes of claiming her first title at the prestigious season-ending event.

Kerber’s Best WTA Finals Result

In three previous appearances, Kerber has enjoyed very little success, having never advanced past the round robin stage and only winning two of her nine matches at the year-end championships.

 

 

 

In her début four years ago, the German was thrust into one of the toughest groups in recent memory, compiled of herself, then-world number eight Li Na, world number three Serena Williams and world number one Victoria Azarenka. Despite competing brilliantly at times, the fifth seed went 0-3 in round robin play—a sour ending to a stellar breakthrough season.

A year later, Kerber would return to the year-end championships as an alternate in pursuit of a better result, and one would go one better in round robin play, rebounding nicely after a pair of losses to Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska.

 

 

 

After just missing the cut in 2014, a resurgent 2015 earned the German a place back in the world’s top eight, but unfortunately, a semifinal seemed to be a step too far for Kerber as she once again went 1-2 in round robin action (her lone win impressively coming over a resurgent Kvitova in straight sets).

Kerber’s Record Against the Elite Eight

Though Kerber might hold a 27-28 lifetime record against the rest of the top eight, the world number one has been incredibly dominant against the world’s best, winning 7 of her 10 matches against the rest of the field this year.

After Williams’ withdrawal, Kerber now holds a 28-26 lifetime record against the projected top eight, with her only loss this year coming to Pliskova in the finals of Cincinnati.