With the wimbledon cup next to her, angelique kerber longed for vacation. The 30-year-old mastered the first media marathon in germany after her tennis gala in london in a relaxed and liberated manner.
But then she wanted to finally relax with friends and family. "It will definitely be somewhere where there aren’t so many people and where i can just get some peace and quiet," kerber told the deutsche presse-agentur in stuttgart about her vacation wishes. "I’m really looking forward to sleeping in, to enjoying the day."
The keel native had not yet made any plans beyond the "promised barbecue evening" on the terrace of her grandparents in poland. After the wimbledon miracle, there has been little time to grasp the historic dimension and come to terms with all that has been experienced. "The most important thing i reward myself with is time," said the first german wimbledon winner in 22 years.
The world number four flew to poland in a private plane. The next day, she appeared again some 860 kilometers away, at her sponsor’s in stuttgart-zuffenhausen. Even three days after converting her match point against serena williams, she hadn’t managed to get all the congratulatory messages off her chest.
In the elegant conference hall, decorated with bunches of flowers, kerber presented the wimbledon cup next to a red sports car, the numerous cameras clicked and clicked. A buffet with strawberries was also set up in the carmaker’s museum on the fourth floor. Around 60 journalists and a dozen camera crews were waiting for her to describe her emotions and new goals when she got stuck in a traffic jam and was therefore delayed.
She has by no means had enough of such moments as those at the famous center court in london. A return to the top of the world rankings is also "a big goal," as the first german wimbledon champion this millennium said. "I just have to say that the rankings are not that important to me anymore. It’s not that I absolutely have to have it tomorrow," explained kerber.
"I liked to win tournaments and have that feeling of holding up the trophies and the cups. These are the moments i do all this for. No ranking can somehow come close to this feeling."Her third grand slam title and the "high point" of her career had propelled the left-hander back to fourth place in the world rankings. She first took over the top position in women’s tennis after the US open 2016.
In the coming weeks and years, she wants to "concentrate particularly on the major tournaments". The french open, the only grand slam title she has yet to win, is not an obligatory goal for her. "For me it is important that i have won three different grand slams. Let’s see, maybe paris will come along," the 30-year-old answered when asked about her chances on the rather unloved sand. "In any case, it is not an unrealistic goal. I have proven that I get the joy of sand."
At wimbledon she had been on a "mission" because she wanted to win the title at all costs. All the poor results in 2017 had caused angie-mania to subside after the outstanding 2016 season. Now, thanks to her, tennis is a topic again. The reserved woman from schleswig-holstein is back in the limelight as a tennis star.
That she never gave up, that she gave emotion and passion for her beloved sport – that’s how the first german grand slam winner since steffi graf wants to be remembered for once. But sports fans should also know that she remains "the same angie" as before her grand slam titles.
In a green suitcase kerber took back her wimbledon cup from stuttgart. In her living room in puszczykowo, poland, the trophae will have a special place amidst all the other trophies: "it will definitely be in the middle of everything."