THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 3, 2021

Angelique Kerber

Press Conference

A. KERBER/A. Sasnovich

2-6, 6-0, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You won the title in 2018. How do you feel playing here again on grass court and what is your confidence level?

ANGELIQUE KERBER: I mean, I love to play on grass. It's always good feeling when the grass court season starts. I played very well the last few weeks on grass already. It's great to being back here in Wimbledon, especially reaching now the second week. This is always a goal when you start a Grand Slam.

Yeah, and I'm looking forward to, yeah, to playing the fourth round now.

Q. I was wondering for you, apart from the rain delay, what helped with that turnaround? The last two sets you kind of just looked like a woman on a mission, like you couldn't be stopped.

ANGELIQUE KERBER: You know, I really had a late start, let's say like this. Of course, I mean, it was good that it was raining a little bit.

But I think for me the key was at the end that I came back on court and I was pushing myself, you know, trying to being aggressive, not only pushing the balls. She played really well in the first few games, but then I started just going out there starting from zero, don't thinking about the score.

Yeah, it helps me to, yeah, go out and playing actually my game plan, which was the plan. But I had a little bit the late start (smiling).

Q. A question to do with middle Sunday. This is the last year that Wimbledon will not have play on the middle Sunday, which is good in some ways because it means you won't play back-to-back Monday-Tuesday. What are your thoughts of that and what some of your memories are of middle Sunday over the years?

ANGELIQUE KERBER: Actually it's a tradition that we have the Sunday off. Nothing is open. You come here, you are practicing. Everything is really calm. You know you reached the second week.

I don't know, over the last years I played here, I really enjoyed the Sunday because you really recovers from the first week. You know, Okay, now the second week starts. You have to get ready from Monday already.

I think I will miss it, to be honest. That's why I will enjoy the Sunday tomorrow even more.

Q. Although the good part is that maybe you don't play Monday and Tuesday in future.

ANGELIQUE KERBER: Yeah, that's actually always a good part. I think actually this is not really the reason. If you play, I don't know, two days off or one day off, it doesn't matter. It's more like, you know, the feeling here that you are still in the tournament and you enjoy the Sunday, which everything, like I said, it's completely off.

Q. You're the only former Wimbledon champion left in the draw on the women's side in the singles. Were you disappointed at all to see that you were on an outside court this morning rather than one of the show courts?

ANGELIQUE KERBER: Not really. I mean, I'm taking the schedule how it is. I know already every single court here. I mean, also when I played today on the Court No. 2, it was full. I always try to enjoy the atmosphere, the crowd. I mean, to playing in front of the crowd that's again something which I missed a lot.

I really am taking the schedule how it is.

Q. You're actually the only former finalist still left in the women's singles draw. Now you play a young woman who is 17 years old. What are your thoughts on the experience versus the youth? What makes Coco Gauff such a compelling player?

ANGELIQUE KERBER: I think it will be really an interesting match. I mean, I never played against her before. Yeah, I mean, she's a newcomer. She played already so many good matches. She beat top players. She's really dangerous, especially on grass court.

I see the fire on her, as well. She's really putting all the effort she has in every single match. So I know that it will be tough match.

But of course, I mean, on one point maybe the experience is good, but on the other side I think it's more like it's a new match, I know that I have to play one of my best tennis against her. This is the goal, to go out there and trying to more focusing on me. I mean, she's I don't know how many years younger than me, but still I think it will be a good match (smiling).

Q. What have you seen in her game that has most impressed you?

ANGELIQUE KERBER: She's hitting the balls really hard. Her serve is really, really good. She's aggressive player. She's moving well. She's fighting. She's not giving up. That's I think, yeah, how she plays the last months, how she will also win, yeah, big titles for sure in the future.

Q. I was wondering what the recovery was like for you after the Sorribes Tormo match. Were you at all concerned going into this match? Is that why you had a slow start?

ANGELIQUE KERBER: Maybe yes. But I was trying yesterday really to recover, doing my ice bath, eating good. I was just a little bit on my bike, actually having the treatments. That was my day yesterday. Nothing special.

Yeah, today I was just trying to feeling my body, trying to going out there. Yeah, I was feeling not bad. Let's leave it like this (laughter).