Angelique Kerber parts ways with Rainer Schuettler after poor Wimbledon run
The three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber will seek the new coach ahead of North American hard-court swing after parting ways with Rainer Schuettler. Kerber started to work with a former Australian Open finalist in the last off-season but the results were not there in the first six and a half months, reaching only two finals and winning no titles. Angelique kicked off the new season as world no. 2 although there were not a lot of matches where she performed in the correlation with her ranking, losing to Petra Kvitova in Sydney and Danielle Collins in the fourth round at the Australian Open.
February had brought nothing good as well, with the semi-final loss to Elise Mertens in Doha and even earlier loss in Dubai before finally finding the form at Indian Wells, reaching the final in the desert where the young Canadian Bianca Andreescu ousted her in three sets. Andreescu proved to be too strong in Miami as well, just like Azarenka in Monterrey and Kiki Bertens in Stuttgart. Madrid and Rolland Garros will not stay in Keber's memory for too long, leaving a poor run behind and raising the level again on beloved grass, losing in the semi-final in Mallorca and the final in Eastbourne when she won just five games against Pliskova.
Heading to Wimbledon as the defending champion, Kerber had to bow out after the second round, losing a considerable amount of points and leaving the top-10. It was enough for both her and Rainer to realize their collaboration is not going into the right way and Kerber will have to find a new coach in the following weeks, ready to work hard on the improvements and get back where she belongs before the end of the season.
"Moving forward, it’s never easy to change - especially when you work with great people like Rainer. But for now, we’ve decided that it’s the right time for a fresh start. He has become a friend and I‘m thankful for his hard work & dedication in the last months."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YfQzCP
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