#360view: Kerber can prove women's tennis is not boring

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    The tennis world is still trying to get its head around the phrase: Australian Open champion, Angelique Kerber.

    Barely anyone had given Kerber a chance against Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals – she was 0-6 against her going in – and even less people gave her a shot against Serena Williams in the final Sunday (Williams had lost just four major finals in 25 appearances).

    Azarenka, an ex-world No1 and two-time champion in Melbourne, and Williams, a 21-time grand slam winner and defending champion, were supposedly the main protagonists in everyone’s dream final but Kerber beat them both en route to her maiden slam.

    A major trophy run does not get more legitimate than that.

    Kerber has been on a journey of self discovery over the past 12 months and she managed to share what it was all about through her roller coaster two weeks in Melbourne. For a while now, she has been the consistent, relentless, counter-puncher that wore her opponents down and produced those epic three-setters that made for compelling tennis. But Kerber had also been the top-ten player few people paid attention to.

    She made a first round exit at the Australian Open last year, changed coaches to reunite with Torben Beltz, lost early at Indian Wells before going to Las Vegas for a training block, where she had a chance meet with her countrywoman and idol Steffi Graf.

    Graf told her she was on the right track, gave her a nudge forward and things started turning around for Kerber in her second stint with Beltz, as she won Charleston and three more Premier titles in 2015.

    But in the slams, Kerber didn’t make it past the third round for the entirety of 2015 and at October’s WTA Finals in Singapore, she needed to win a single set to make the semi-finals in her last round robin match but instead lost in straights and crashed out. She sat down with Beltz in the off-season to discuss how she needed to improve at the majors and within two months, Kerber has won one.

    Her transformation has been remarkable over such a short period of time. For someone who has already enjoyed a long career, the 28-year-old has come on leaps and bounds over the course of four weeks. She was hammered in the Brisbane final three weeks ago by Azarenka, yet turned the tables on her in Melbourne. She almost lost in the first round to Misaki Doi, saving a match point, and said she felt calmer and more confident after surviving that three-setter.

    Kerber's best grand slam results

    • US Open - Semi-final (2011)
    • Wimbledon - Semi-final (2012)
    • French Open - Quarter-final (2012)
    • Australian Open - Winner (2016)

    In the press room, Kerber went from being reserved to talking and acting like a top player. On the court, she didn’t just stick to one game plan, she would analyse what was going on and adjusted accordingly – like those two fearless drop shots against Williams in the final that helped her to a 4-2 break in the deciding set.

    In Kerber, the game has a new world No2 and someone playing with new-found confidence, hungry for more. For those who say the women’s game is boring due to Williams’ dominance, Kerber may have just provided the spark to burn that theory. Williams will continue to be a favourite, and will catch Graf sooner or later, but Kerber just showed the world No1, and everyone else that there are players out there who are full of belief that they can take down the queen. A stunning upset and a new slam champion in the first month of the season – what more could one ask for from a sport?

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