There is no doubt that world no.1 Angelique Kerber is struggling this year after such a strong performance in 2016 which saw her win the Australian Open, the Stuttgart Open and the US Open. Apart from those three final appearances she also reached the finals of the Brisbane Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics, Cincinnati and the WTA finals, but she has been nowhere near her best at all this year.
Apart from an impressive showing at the Dubai Tennis Championship and the Monterrey Open, she had struggled in every other tournament she has taken part in. The German is set to compete in the French Open next with her first match against Russian Ekaterina Makarova and she will be hoping for a strong showing.
While Kerber has not yet found a solution to turn things around this year, German tennis legend Boris Becker feels that she should turn to 22-time Wimbledon champion Steffi Graf. Becker feels that Kerber is feeling the same pressure as Graff did when she was number one.
"If someone is familiar with pressure and the number one burden, then it is Steffi. Steffi's tips are always good and never grow old. She knows what she is talking about. Angie should get some more advice from her. The fact that she does not play so well on clay has been seen last year," Tennis World quoted Becker as saying.
"The difference to last year is that she has not played so well in 2017 at the Australian Open and also in the subsequent hard court tournaments. This makes Angie insecure and nervous. To become number one is very hard - to stay number one is doubly difficult."
"This is what she is experiencing now. Maybe Angie has a wrong view. You should enjoy the time at the top more. Kerber does not happen to be there by chance, but because she was the strongest player in the world - over twelve months."
Kerber has 19 wins and 12 losses so far in 2017 and has won only two out of the five matches she has played on clay this year. She has openly expressed that she is struggling in clay this year and while she will definitely be the favourite against Makarova, the Russian cannot be ruled out just yet as she is known for causing upsets.
