STANFORD, Calif. —  Ask Angelique Kerber who’ll be the next German to win a Grand Slam, and the No. 8-ranked lefty won’t waste much time giving you a response. 

“I hope me.”

It’s a rare brand of confidence, one that comes from a player only when their game is really coming together, when wins over the sport’s most elite competition are beginning to come with more regularity.  Kerber, who’s prepping for her opening match at the Bank of the West Classic, is fresh off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, where she scored just such a confidence-boosting win over Maria Sharapova, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4.

“She's never really a player that gives you a lot of mistakes or lots of errors,” said Sharapova of Kerber, whom she had previously beaten on three straight occasions.  “You really have to win the match against her.”

It’s compliments like that one — from a five-time Grand Slam champion, no less — that have Kerber believing in her abilities more than ever.

“I’m trying to move well, not make too many mistakes, and I’m trying to be aggressive,” Kerber told Tennis View.  On that day against Maria, I played at a very high level.  That shows me that I’m going the right way.  I’m trying to continue that.”

“It gives me a lot of confidence,” added the 26-year-old.  “For sure it’s still on my mind, that match.  It showed me that I really can play at a high level and win a match like that.”

Despite some strong performances on a variety of surfaces this year, including a trio of finals in Sydney, Doha and Eastbourne, Kerber has yet to win a title in 2014.  But she’s buoyed by the fact that her consistent play has kept her inside the top 10.  And with the US Open on the horizon, that self-belief should only get stronger.  After all, she has excelled on the cement of Flushing Meadows, where she’s reached the fourth round or better the last three years.  Her career-best result was a semifinal showing in 2011, a run that saw the Bremen-born baseliner score big-stage wins over the likes of Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta.  But her most important result at the year-end Slam might just be a loss.  It came in her first US Open appearance, on opening night in 2007, when she faced off against Serena Williams under the lights in the 24,000 -seat Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“From this time, everything changed,” Kerber said.

“I played a great match, but for me the most important thing was that I [learned] that I really can play with the top players.  I was very young.  It showed me that I should keep going and try to improve my game and believe in myself. I went out and had nothing to lose.  I took in the atmosphere.  The fans are unbelievable there.  They’re supporting you. Everything was so new for me.  I just tried to enjoy it.”

Kerber awaits the winner of Monday night’s first-round match between Coco Vandeweghe and Kristie Ahn.