Angelique Kerber

Angelique Kerber

Kerber at the 2011 US Open where she made her first Grand Slam semifinal
Full name	Angelique Kerber
Country	Germany
Residence	Puszczykowo, Poland
Born	(1988-01-18) 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	$3,923,849
Singles
Career record	333–192
Career titles	2 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 5 (22 October 2012)
Current ranking	No. 8 (20 May 2013)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	4R (2013)
French Open	QF (2012)
Wimbledon	SF (2012)
US Open	SF (2011)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	QF (2012)
Doubles
Career record	51–51
Career titles	0 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 106 (29 April 2013)
Current ranking	No. 107 (20 May 2013)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013)
French Open	2R (2012)
Wimbledon	3R (2011)
US Open	3R (2012)
Team Competitions
Fed Cup	3–5
Last updated on: 20 May 2013.

Angelique Kerber (born 18 January 1988 in Bremen) is a professional German tennis player, who, as of 20 May 2013, is ranked world number 8 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association. As such, Kerber is currently the highest ranked German in the WTA Rankings.

Kerber has competed as a professional since 2003, has won two WTA titles (2012 Open GDF Suez and 2012 e-Boks Open) and eleven ITF titles. Kerber's best Grand Slam results have come at the 2011 US Open and the 2012 Wimbledon Championships where she was a semifinalist, and the 2012 French Open where she reached the quarterfinals.

Personal life

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

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 Ivanović.

2007 was a breakthrough year for Kerber as she won four titles. Having defended her title in Seguanay 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 the 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

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 Anastasia 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: Breakthrough and 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 at a score of 6–4, 4–3. 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 the second round, she faced Monica Niculescu and beat her too. She then played the number one seed Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinal, beating her in straight sets. This set up a semifinal match against the unseeded Yanina Wickmayer. Kerber won to set up her second ever WTA final. She played second seed Marion Bartoli in the final; Kerber won the first set 7–6 and took an early 3–0 lead in the second. Bartoli came back to level the score at 5–5 and eventually took the set 5–7. Kerber shot off to a 4–0 lead in the third and finished the set with a 6–3 score to close out the match.

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 a miraculous comeback from 6–2, 5–1, 40–15 down; facing two match points in winning 2–6, 7–5, 6–4, 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, coming back from 4–1 down in the third set and facing match points at 6–5 down to win 6–3, 3–6, 7–6. 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; she had to grind out two more three-set wins against Anne Keothavong and fellow German Mona Barthel (coming from 5–2 down in third set and saving match points at 5–4 down). After three tough wins, 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 6–7, 4–6, in a tough contest, and beating Olivia Rogowska 6–3, 6–3. Germany lost the tie, however, 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.

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 the fourth round, she won easily against the former world number one Kim Clijsters with an astonishing score of 6–1, 6–1, 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. 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 quarterfinal, Kerber beat Serena Williams for the first time, winning 6–4, 6–4. This snapped Williams's 19-match winning streak. Kerber then defeated Petra Kvitová in her 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 was forced to retire against Maria Sharapova due to a foot injury.

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.

2013

Kerber reached the fourth round of the 2013 Australian Open, making this the furthest she has ever progressed in the tournament. She was defeated there 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.

Kerber would then reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells, and the final in Monterrey, losing to Caroline Wozniacki and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova respectively.

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. Kerber then reached the quarter-finals in Madrid, being defeated there by Ana Ivanovic; it was Kerber's second loss against her in three weeks.

Career statistics

Main article: Angelique Kerber career statistics

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles

Tournament	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	SR	W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	2R	1R	3R	1R	3R	4R	0 / 6	8–6
French Open	A	1R	1R	A	2R	1R	QF		0 / 5	5–5
Wimbledon	A	1R	1R	A	3R	1R	SF		0 / 5	6–5
US Open	A	1R	A	2R	1R	SF	4R		0 / 5	10–5
Win–Loss	0–0	0–3	1–3	1–2	5–4	5–4	14–4	3–1	0 / 21	29–21

Doubles

Tournament	2007	2008	2010	2011	2012	2013	SR	W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open		1R		1R	1R		0 / 3	0–3
French Open			1R	1R	2R		0 / 3	1–3
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 / 12	5–12

External links

• Angelique Kerber at the Women's Tennis Association
• Angelique Kerber at the International Tennis Federation
• Angelique Kerber at the Fed Cup
• Official website
• Angelique Kerber on Twitter

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