There is more pressure than before: Kerber

Singapore, Oct 21: Angelique Kerber is the world number one in women's tennis yet it remains a title she has yet to grow accustomed to after her meteoric rise to the summit.

Still a relatively new experience, the 28-year-old German reached the peak of the women's game last month after landing her second Grand Slam title of the year at the US Open, capping a stunning season for the left-hander from Bremen.

Kerber floated around the lower echelons of the top 10 for the last four years and did not even make the second week of a grand slam in 2015, but it all clicked in January.

A run to the fil in Brisbane preceded a surprise upset win over Sere Williams to land the Australian Open title as the baseliner renowned for her strong defensive game filly realised her talent.

"All the experience from the last few years came together this year. The belief in myself, I've grown up a little bit more this year," she told Reuters of her new-found maturity.

"The victory in Australia, of course it's great, I continued it the last few months and I'm here now as the best player of the year... and the world actually," she added, chuckling as she corrected herself. Kerber is guaranteed the year-end number one ranking after Williams pulled out of the USD 7 million season-ending WTA Fils in Singapore, which starts on Sunday, with a shoulder injury. IANS