While Angelique Kerber’s maths may need some work, her confidence certainly doesn’t.
After securing her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, the rest of the German’s year hasn’t matched that success.
The No.4 seed at the All England Club, Kerber has endured five first-round eliminations since Melbourne, including at Roland Garros, where she was shocked by eventual semi-finalist Kiki Bertens.
Factor in a shoulder problem picked up in Paris and it would have been understandable had she arrived in south west London with some trepidation. Then again, Grand Slam champions tend to be equipped with at least a modicum of self-belief, and Kerber is seemingly no different.
When asked how prepared she felt on a scale of 1-10, Kerber cracked a smile, and replied: “11”.
It's tough to play, of course, against a Great Britain girl
"No, I'm really prepared, physically and mentally. I did everything I could,” she added.
“The time after Paris – a few days going home, having a lot of treatments for my shoulder and everything – that was good for me – mentally, physically, everything – to get this time. Right now I'm feeling good, so the shoulder is already much better. Yeah, no pain when I'm serving.”
Kerber’s belief is evidently unshaken, but her resolve could be tested in a first round once again. The 28-year-old will open her Wimbledon campaign against wild card Laura Robson, and while it may appear to be a mismatch ranking wise – there are 290 places between the two players – Kerber would be well advised to ignore the disparity.
In 2011, Kerber – then the world No.77 – opened against a wild card by the name of Laura Robson, but it was the Brit who triumphed in three sets. Of course, much has changed in five years. In fact, the only real similarity between the two players’ careers currently is that they’ve both been hampered by injury in recent months. Despite Robson’s troubles, Kerber is well aware of the challenge a home favourite can pose, but, unsurprisingly, is looking forward to tackling it.
“It's tough to play, of course, against a Great Britain girl. I played against her a long time ago, also in a first round. But I'm looking forward,” she said. “She's a lefty, like me, so this is always tricky, on grass especially. But, yeah, it's good to have a first round, a tough first round. It's always good.”
Unperturbed by her previous Wimbledon history against Robson, Kerber won’t be spending any time watching their previous match – particularly as her beloved Germany have a Euro 2016 match against Slovakia to play.
“No, no it [the match] is too far away. It’s too many years,” she said. “And I'm always on the TV watching Germany, of course.”
