"Fresh in the head" is how Angelique Kerber's coach, Wim Fissette, describes her. That makes a change from last season when the German was so mentally frazzled after just one tournament that she felt as though she needed a holiday.
Going into the busiest time on the tennis calendar - with the French Open starting on Sunday, and Wimbledon following soon afterwards in early July - expect to see a rejuvenated Kerber on the clay and the grass. Having won a couple of Grand Slams in 2016, and having finished that season as the WTA World No.1, she spiralled down the rankings in 2017, even dropping out of the top 20. But, after linking up with Fissette during the off-season, she has been a different player in 2018; as well as that mental freshness, she has rediscovered her love for being on court and playing tennis matches, which she had misplaced last season.
"Angie felt a lot of pressure last year. With all the pressure on her, and also with all the off-court activities as well - because as No.1 you have to do so much more off court - she didn't feel fresh in her head last year. There was too much to do and she couldn't enjoy being on the court and enjoy playing tennis and fighting for every point. She felt a lot of expectations on her as No.1 in the world," Fissette told wtatennis.com.
"So that was difficult, but I feel that now she wants to go on the court and she loves playing tennis. She feels fresh again. After her first tournament last year, she felt as though she needed a holiday, and of course that's not the right feeling to have when you've just started the year. But I feel as though she loves the game a lot right now."
Fueled by a desire to show others that her career isn't over, Kerber has had some strong results so far in 2018, including winning the Sydney title, reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, and making the quarterfinals of last week's clay-court event in Rome.
"Angie learned a lot in the past year. She was extremely motivated when we started working in November. She wanted to show everyone that she could still be a great player and that her career wasn't over. She's still going with that mentality. She's very hungry on the court, she's working really hard and she's very ambitious, even on the clay, which is not easy for her," said Fissette.
Kerber, now ranked 12th, believes she can return to the top. "Her goal is to get back to No.1 again one day, and then do things differently to how she did it last year," Fissette said.
Such is Kerber's love for tennis now, Fissette has to force her to put her racket down for a few days. "Two days without tennis is very difficult for her. We sometimes need to force her to take time away from the court. She loves playing tennis and playing tournaments - she's a competitor and she needs the competition. But she also needs time away from the court to stay mentally open and fresh. That will be important," Fissette said.
"Skipping Madrid because of an injury was a huge decision for her, but in Rome she felt good to have had some time away from the court. She needs to find the right balance. She didn't have the right balance at all last year. She needs to make mistakes to learn. Once in a while it's good to take a step back and not play a tournament, and to use that opportunity to rest and train - and then only play tournaments when you feel as though you are physically ready to maybe win it."
On her last two visits to the French Open, Kerber didn't win a match. But perhaps this year she can put a run together.
"Angie didn't start the clay-court season with much confidence - she didn't win a match on clay last year. I was very pleased with the last week in Rome, where she had four matches and played better with every match. She was playing the game she needs to play if she's going to be successful on clay," Fissette said.
"When she was young, she practised on carpet, so she feels a lot more comfortable on grass than on the clay. Her grip is a bit more classic so higher contact is difficult for her. But everything is about finding solutions, and adjusting her game to avoid the higher contacts, which she can do through working on her movement."
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