How far can Kerber go at this years Wimbledon?
BAD HOMBURG/WASHINGTON, June 27, 2021 (by Michael Dickens)  A smiling and delighted Angelique Kerber had just come off Center Court after winning the WTA 250 seriesbad Homburg Open in central Germany on Saturday, her first WTA title since her 2018 Wimbledon win. During her remarkable week in her home country, the 33-year-old German looked like her old Grand Slam self. She defeated the 76th Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-2 for her 13th WTA singles title and second on grass. . @AngeliqueKerber: Tournament Ambassador, Tournament Winner, Elephant Mother! A million thanks for a great week pic.twitter.com/iR6dTNgCM6 Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Vlkers (@badhomburgopen) June 26, 2021  As the three-time great champion prepares to play at the Wimbledon Championships this week it seemed only natural to be asked about Wimbledon memories of winning on grass as she sat down to do the press after her Bad Homburg Open title win. Kerber, who also served as a tournament ambassador, admitted she was motivated to find her best tennis, playing at home and with the Wimbledon start just days away. A lot of things came together and I was trying to push myself, to play my best tennis, even if Im looking for Wimbledon now and have the match feeling again. So yes, its a great feeling to win a title again, especially in Germany. she said. Kerber, who is in the top half of the draw and could potentially meet a 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the third round, her quest for a second Wimbledon crown begins against Serbias Nina Stojanovico on Tuesday. I think this week my view of Wimbledon is changing, because I always consider Wimbledon to be the most important tennis tournament, because everyone knows Wimbledon, its a prestige tournament and its a traditional tournament, said Kerber. So, for me to have this week, thats why I really put everything on the pitch to have these games, to feel like winning the games and now go to Wimbledon with this feeling. Of course it starts from scratch, everything. Its another Grand Slam, we have the first round and now this is the match that counts. Then well see what happens at Wimbledon this year.  HME VICTORY @badhomburgopen Playing in front of my home crowd with this incredible energy was the reward for all the hard work of the past few months  #TeamAngie pic.twitter.com/DuBTyOYzeQ Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) June 26, 2021  Ostapenko wins Viking International title  Add grass to the surfaces that Latvia Jelena Ostapenko has mastered one of her four WTA singles titles. Of course, she will be forever remembered for winning the 2017 French Open on clay, growing her international profile, and she also won hard court titles in Seoul in 2017 and in Luxembourg in 2019. Now the world No. 34, who took a wild card to the Wimbledon set-up event in Eastbourne, along Englands south east coast, won the WTA 500 series grass court event with a calm and balanced yet dominating 65-minute, 6-3, 6- 3 win on the 25th Anett Kontaveit from Estonia. Third wildcard to cancel the title @ JelenaOstapenk8 pushes past Kontaveit in straight sets for the #VikingInternational title! pic.twitter.com/yFx9tPjvuW wta (@WTA) June 26, 2021  Im very happy with the way I played all week, said Ostapenko, full of positive vibes for Wimbledon, during her post-match press conference. There were some close matches, but I fought until the last moment I played really well, and I think I played the semi-finals and finals at a really high level.  On his way to win the Eastbourne title, Ostapenko defeated No. 35Daria Kasatkina, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 in Thursdays quarter-finals and No. 21Elena Rybakina, 6-4, 6-1, in the semi-finals. It put her in the right frame of mind. I think I went into the game very calmly to be honest,admitted Ostapenko, who hit 24 winners, beating Kontaveit 61-50. I was not stressed at all. I was well warmed up and really ready. I just expected a really tough match because I knew [Anett] is a great player and it will be very difficult to play against her. I tried to play more aggressively and go for the shots when I got opportunities. I think I serve very well today; I turned back and changed the directions [which] helped me a lot too. And with drop shots and different types of shots I sometimes made slices of the forehand.  As Ostapenko prepares for Wimbledon, where she will play in 71st placeLeylah Fernandez of Canada in her first round match on Tuesday, she thinks winning Eastbourne is just the start of good things to come. If I keep playing the way Ive played this tournament, I think I can be in the Top 10 again and play well, she said. So I just have to keep that in mind and work even harder.  Aoyama and Shibahara win fourth doubles title of the season  The Viking International womens doubles final was won by Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara. The No. 2 seeds, both from Japan, beat No. 1 seeds Nicole Melichar of the United States and Demi Schuurs from The Netherlands. Aoyama and Shibahara started the 2021 season with three title runs, in Abu Dhabi, the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne and the Miami Open. After a shutout during the European clay-court season, the Japanese duo are again scooping trophies. Title no. 7 as a pair  No.2 seeds @EnaShibs and Shuko Aoyama beat the number 1 seeds for the title  in Eastbourne!#VikingInternational pic.twitter.com/HmQepeLRBT wta (@WTA) June 26, 2021  Weve had some ups and downs this year and we make sure that even in our downs we keep telling each other that we can improve, Shibahara said, as quoted by the WTA website, So we can get to that next level. I think this week was really good for us.  Aoyama and Shibahara are 4-0 in the doubles finals this year, having won their last seven doubles finals dating back to 2019. Elina Svitolina: Showing off her Wimbledon whites  Leave it to world No. 5 Elina Svitolina from Ukraine, who is a master of Tik-Tok, to use her social media platforms to showcase her Nike Wimbledon apparel. Nick and Venus: A Highly Unlikely Mixed Double Pair  Nick Kyrgios makes his return to tennis at Wimbledon and hes already making headlines for using social media to look for a mixed doubles partner. Yes, Kyrgios will work with none other than Venus Williams, 41, a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and six-time Wimbledon champion in doubles, who was a 2006 Wimbledon mixed doubles finalist with Bob Bryan. A new mixed doubles team debuts at Wimbledon@Venuseswilliams and @NickKyrgios will team up for a shot at the #Wimbledon mixed doubles title!  wta (@WTA) June 26, 2021  What they share on social media  Alex de Minaur / Loving every second on the grass!