A blossoming coaching partnership, a sterling Hopman Cup campaign, and a Vogue cover shoot: life is good for Angelique Kerber, both on court and off.
The Australian Open 2016 champion returns to Melbourne Park six months removed from her third major triumph, winning Wimbledon in her third Grand Slam final against Serena Williams.
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And while her results tailed off in the second half of 2018, she has returned from the off-season refreshed, resilient and ready for a tilt at a second Australian Open title.
“After a long season, you are just trying to survive at the end, trying to pushing yourself, playing still good tennis,” explained the world No.2, seeded second in Melbourne. “But now we have new season coming, and the motivation is really high again.
“I know that I’m playing good right now, that I had good matches, that I have the confidence. But still it's not easy here. The tournament starts from zero. I have good memories, yeah, I have a good feeling. You never know what's happen.”
Kerber and compatriot Sascha Zverev began the year with an impressive surge to the Hopman Cup final. There aren’t many tournaments where you finish with a 4-0 singles record and a runner-up trophy, but wins over Garbine Muguruza, Alize Cornet, Ash Barty and Belinda Bencic were only enough to push the final to a winner-takes-all mixed doubles showdown, won by Bencic and Roger Federer.
It’s the sort of form that turns heads on the eve of a Grand Slam, especially for a player with Kerber’s pedigree. But the German, who faces Polona Hercog in the first round, is committed to that most well-worn of athlete’s mantras: taking it one match at a time.
“I'm not putting too much expectation on me, with the results and everything like that,” Kerber said. “I'm here to, like always at the Grand Slams, find my rhythm, play the first round, try to do my best, then look day by day.
“The conditions are never so easy here, in Melbourne especially. But, yeah, I'm looking forward. This is the only expectation I have: to give my best in every single match.”
Be it a honeymoon period or a step-change in her prospects, the appointment of Rainer Schuttler as coach in the off-season already appears to be paying dividends for Kerber. The German, who reached the Australian Open final in 2003 and Wimbledon semis five years later, has brought a fresh perspective to the Kerber camp in the wake of her success with Wim Fissette.
“I think he is the first coach [I’ve had] that also played,” Kerber said. “He knows how it is to be under pressure, to have the emotions on court. He understands my thinking. On court he is also a hard worker – yeah, he loves the sport like me. We are both really trying to do our best. We have the passion.
“To me, it's great to have Rainer on my team. I have a great team right now. I'm looking forward to the season right now. It's just the beginning. Let's see what happen in the next few months.”
Success on court means the spotlight off court, and Kerber is leaning into her status as one of the greats of the game, something that hasn’t always come naturally to her. An invitation to Milan for a photoshoot for Vogue Germany may have pushed her beyond her comfort zone, but she enjoyed the experience.
“Of course, to be on the cover of Vogue, it's an honour,” she said. “I really like it. I had a great day in Italy, and the pictures, they show little bit of a different side. For me, it was important to show me in different styles – also with the hair, with everything. This was actually the idea of this.”
Showing off a different side, listening to a different voice. Change is good for Kerber – and now comes another change, to the rigours of Grand Slam tennis.
“For me it's important to go on court and try to making the transition from my practice sessions to matches. I was really working hard in the pre-season, and now I'm really looking forward to having the competition and playing matches again.”