And rising she is, very quickly. After only moving ranking up six spots to no. 31 in 2014, Maddy has busted into the Top 20 after being the third straight 19 year-old to reach the Australian Open semifinals. Her serve and power off the ground is something to behold. When Maddy is on her game, you can't help but smile at the ridiculous winners that come off her racquet. At age 20, she's still got plenty of time to improve on her variety and learn not going for broke at inopportune times, but she's got the attitude and work ethic to build upon a champion-making playstyle. The outcome of matches tends to depend on how Madison plays, something that nearly all previous Slam winners have in common.
Which is why it was so surprising to see Angelique Kerber pull off the comeBACK win in a fantastic Charleston final against Madison, especially given their forms this season. While Maddy was being rightfully crowned the new "Next Big Thing," Angie entered the Family Circle Cup with a losing record in 2015. It seemed like she was rapidly following the Sara Errani trajectory: an outsider who made the most of her talent by winning a shload of matches, but couldn't sustain nor make an impact to against the very elite. Errani's even done Kerber one better by making the French Open final; Kerber has only gotten to two Slam semis (and just two other quarterfinals).
Still, Angie was able to put her "Duncurrber" tendencies away for a week and play a really great match against Madison. Kerber likely will never be seen as someone who can win a major, but her ability to counterpunch (emphasis on "punch") is among the best and extremely entertaining. The points she and Maddy produced is something that I want to see all the time. The push and pull, the momentum swings, and the shotmaking from both was impressive, and both were playing well. More please, tennis gods.
Now that Kerbz seems to have gotten out of her funk, is she BACK? Only time will tell. Clay isn't usually good for her and winning Charleston doesn't shake that notion for me because the court doesn't play slow or seem very clay-like at all other than the whole sliding thing. But I hope she is. This title hopefully has restored her confidence in getting back to where Madison is heading: towards the upper echelons of the WTA.
(Sidenote: Maddy should totally adopt the "cow on ice" moniker.)
