Angelique Kerber has always openly acknowledged that clay has not been her favourite surface. Thus, she has surprised everyone with her run of 11 straight wins on the clay this spring, including two WTA Premier Tournament title (Charleston and Stuttgart) and a Fed Cup win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Russia. To Kerber, however, these wins have not been shocking. She has an entirely new team, which has aided in giving her self-confidence and a new sense of direction. “A few days ago, I said clay is actually not my favorite surface, but right now I think I will change my mind,” she professed.

After a continuous slide down the rankings since August of last year, Kerber fired her coach of three years, Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh, and returned to her former coach Torben Beltz after the Australian Open. Re-introducing an old voice into her coaching box, as well as working with tennis legends Steffi Graf and Darren Cahill, seems to have paid off, with Kerber commenting, “I believe it was important for me to hear some different things and get some other opinions about tennis — from the best of the best. It’s always good to get fresh input.”

What has been most remarkable about Kerber’s winning streak has been that, prior to Charleston, she had not been able to defeat an opponent in the top 20 this year. She has come out of Stuttgart defeating three top-10 players:  Maria Sharapova, Ekaterina Makarova, and Caroline Wozniacki. None of these victories came easily for the German, especially the matches against Sharapova and Wozniacki. Coming into the tournament, Sharapova had never been defeated in Stuttgart, holding a 13-0 record there. Wozniacki at multiple points of the final was within two points of winning the title. However, Kerber dug in her heels and showed the resilience that she is famous for, playing increasingly aggressive tennis rather than resorting to defense.   

Kerber also credited the overwhelming home support as one of the reasons why she was able to win the tournament. “It felt amazing out there. The crowd was so supportive of both of us. I was a little bit tired (…) but when I hear the crowd I was fighting until the last point – it was amazing to feel the support from all the fans here at home,” Kerber mused about her second-round victory over Sharapova. By the time she had reached the final, the German had played six straight matches since her Fed Cup win the previous Sunday, and her right thigh was heavily taped and clearly hampering her movement. Not only was her movement impaired, but Wozniacki was unrelenting in her defense and offense, making it extremely difficult for the German.

Again, Kerber attributed this win to her fans. “I know that, against her, you have always tough rallies and long rallies. I need to run for every single point. At the end, I was just trying to fight until the last point because I have in my mind that I can turn round matches like this. I was believing in myself until the last point. Then, when I made match point it was just an amazing feeling to win here in front of my home crowd.”

While the title in Stuttgart is of the same calibre as Charleston, this victory was a more notable one for Kerber, who had never won a tournament in her home country before. “It’s definitely a most special moment because winning the title here in Stuttgart in front of a home crowd is something really special, in front of family, friends and the incredible crowd,”Kerber said. “This is the kind of success that’ll always stay in my heart.”

The question now being asked of Kerber is whether or not this performance can translate into the rest of the clay season, where her best performance at Roland Garros has been a quarterfinal appearance in 2012, losing to Sara Errani in straight sets. Only time can tell, but one thing is for sure:  Kerber will be enjoying the clay season more than she ever has before.

“I’ve played very well on clay the last few days and weeks. I feel good that I have had so many matches on the clay, and now I’m looking forward to the next tournaments before Paris.”