Sliding Into the Paris Picture

What a difference a month can make. What a difference a coach can make. What a difference a fist-pump, instead of a shoulder-slump, can make.

In case WTA fans had forgotten any of those things in 2015, Angelique Kerber was there in Stuttgart this weekend to remind us that they’re all still true. With her gruelingly tense, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 comeback win over Caroline Wozniacki in the final, the unseeded Kerber thrilled her home-country fans by winning her second tournament in the last four weeks. Not bad for a player who spent the early part of 2015 losing in the first round at the Australian Open, Antwerp, Doha, and Indian Wells, and often looking despondent while doing so.

By reversing that trend so rapidly and thoroughly, Kerber didn’t just light up the arena in Stuttgart, she brought a jolt of upbeat energy to the women’s tour. For the last month, we’ve heard a lot about unmet expectations and disappointing coaching partnerships. Eugenie Bouchard, Agnieszka Radwanska, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova: Each of them has taken a step (or two) back so far this season. As of last month, Kerber appeared to be the last person who was ready to take advantage of their troubles.

Rather than find a new power-coach, Kerber went back to someone tried and true: She reunited with Torben Beltz, who had helped her first reach the Top 10, before they split in 2013. An old voice, and a new surface, did the trick: Since switching to clay, Kerber is 10-0 and has won two titles. In Charleston, she beat two Top 20 players, Andrea Petkovic and Madison Keys; in Stuttgart, she was even better, beating three women in the Top 10, Maria Sharapova, Ekaterina Makarova, and Wozniacki.

“A few days ago,” Kerber said after winning on Sunday, “I said clay is actually not my favorite surface, but right now I think I will change my mind. I’ve played very well on clay the last few days and weeks.”

It wasn’t just the surface of the court, of course; it was also the location. Germans play well in Germany, and Kerber was no exception.

“I am completely done without this crowd here, empty,” she said after coming back from a break down in the third to stun Wozniacki. “I gave everything I had and the crowd just carried me. I had to fight until the very end and I could not have done it without this crowd.”

Kerber was pushed by that crowd all week. Pushed to mount an unlikely comeback against Sharapova, in which she played what may have been the best tennis of her career. Pushed to maintain that level of play in her next two matches. And pushed, finally, across the finish line when Wozniacki twice seemed to have her beaten.

In the past, Kerber and Wozniacki have thrown their share of moonballs at each other, but the third set in Stuttgart was one of the best of the WTA season so far. This time, the longer and more grinding the rallies were, the more dramatic the match became. Every surge was met by a counter-surge from the other side. Kerber was two points from defeat at 3-5, but when she served for it at 6-5, Wozniacki put up her own spirited defense. After saving multiple match points with last-second sliding gets, she was finally done in by a Kerber forehand that caught the service line and skidded out of her reach.

“It was small things that made the difference,” Wozniacki said. “I had 5-3 in the third and 30-all, it could have gone both ways, but she took her chances and it went her way.”

While she couldn’t hold off Kerber in the end, this was also a positive week for Wozniacki. She wore down world No. 2 Simona Halep in the semifinals, and she showed that progress has been made with clay-season coach Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Until the last few games of the final, Wozniacki hit with more weight and penetration on her forehand, backhand, and even her serve. Only with the championship on her racquet did she resume a defensive position and let Kerber dictate. Still, Wozniacki, unlike many of her Top 10 peers, is trending upward at the moment.

So, obviously, is Kerber. The German, when she’s feeling good about her game, is a welcome re-addition to the tour’s top ranks. With her whirling athleticism, miraculous gets, and unorthodox improvisations, she makes defense entertaining. Emotionally, though, she can be all or nothing, an upper or a downer. The biggest difference this week, I thought, was her body language. Kerber can get negative in a hurry, and she came out flat in the final. After a visit from Beltz, she started the second set by fist-pumping after a seemingly routine point. She made a concerted effort to remind herself how much a win here would mean to her.

The question of body language, and whether it matters, has come up a lot in relation to Andy Murray in recent years. Murray has written “Be good to yourself" in the notes he takes on court, though he has trouble taking his own advice. In Stuttgart, Kerber, with a little help from her friends, showed what can happen when you do. We’ll see over the next month how far she can convince herself to go on her new favorite surface.

While Kerber and Wozniacki slid into the Paris picture on the women’s side this weekend, Kei Nishikori joined them on the men’s. He made his spring European debut by defending his title in Barcelona with the cool professionalism of a man who fully believes in his No. 5 ranking. After this week, in which the player ranked one spot ahead of him, Rafael Nadal, went out in the third round, Nishikori might start to believe he should be even higher.

“I think this victory on clay and in such a difficult tournament gives me a lot of confidence to face the upcoming competitions,” said Nishikori, who took efficient care of Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4 in the final and dropped one set in a Barcelona event that featured 12 of the ATP's Top 25. “It’s just an amazing feeling to win a title.”

How much confidence should Nishikori have as he marches toward Paris? Like Novak Djokovic, another hard-court lover who's at home on clay, Nishikori’s impeccable footwork and stroke production allow him to move pretty seamlessly between surfaces. And like Djokovic, his biggest strength is his lack of a weakness: Both men are equally dangerous with their forehands and backhands, and both can hit them to either corner on any shot. On Sunday, Nishikori ended each set against Andujar by breaking serve, and each time he did it with an excellent backhand return. There’s no place to go when you play him.

Next up for Nishikori is a return to Madrid, where he nearly won the title last year. That final, in which he eventually had to retire with a back injury to Nadal, summed up the pros and cons of the brilliant-but-brittle Nishikori. For most of two sets, he was untouchable; rarely has Nadal been pushed around on clay like that. Then, just as the finish line appeared, Nishikori’s back seized up.

So far in 2015, Nishikori has stayed largely injury free. Is he due for another trip to the sidelines, or has he turned the corner with his health? We’ll know more as the clay season, the tours’ most sustained physical test, unfolds.