In today's real world, 60 is said to be the new 50.

In the slightly surreal world of elite tennis, there is a parallel paradigm: hope for those approaching 30 (and already beyond).

Weeks before her 30th birthday, Francesca Schiavone won her first and only major, the 2010 French Open. Li Na, who took the crown a year later at Roland Garros at the age of 29, earned her second Grand Slam singles title, the 2014 Australian Open, one month shy of 32. Flavia Pennetta was 33 when she broke through at the 2015 US Open, defeating 32-year-old Roberta Vinci in the final.

Stan Wawrinka won this year's US Open, his third major title in three years, at 31, and 29-year-old Andy Murray became the oldest first-time No. 1-ranked player since John Newcombe in 1974.

Add Angelique Kerber to the growing list of athletes who have blossomed spectacularly in their maturing years. After going 0-for-32 in nine previous seasons of Grand Slams, the 28-year-old German won this year's Australian Open and US Open and supplanted Serena Williams as the No. 1-ranked player.

"What was she, No. 10 a year ago?" asked ESPN analyst Brad Gilbert. "Ten to one is pretty good."

Coincidentally, that's the best such leap since Gilbert coached Andy Roddick from a No. 10 year-end ranking to No. 1 at the end of 2003.

"For Kerber to win two majors, almost out of nowhere," Gilbert continued, "I did not see that coming."

Who did? Perhaps only Kerber herself and longtime coach Torben Beltz.

Her 2015 season was typical of the recent success that came with three consecutive year-end finishes in the top 10. The lefty won $1.9 million and four titles -- in the relatively modest venues of Charleston, Stuttgart, Birmingham and Stanford -- more than doubling her previous career victory total. Her match record was 53-22. A thoroughly professional effort, but her record in majors was only 6-4 and she failed to advance past the third round.

This caused Kerber to rethink her career.

"A year ago, for whatever reason, Kerber realized she needed to be more consistently emotionally stable and engaged in all her matches," said Pam Shriver, who will join Gilbert next month as part of ESPN's Australian Open coverage. "She also realized, although she was already pretty fit, she could take fitness to the next level. Upon those two things happening, things fell into place at Melbourne."

Indeed, fitness was always a Kerber calling card. It allowed her to play long rallies and defend as well as any of her competitors. But that skill set came with a downside; there was usually a reluctance, particularly under duress, to go for the decisive shot.

Kerber explained her dramatically changed 2016 mindset after beating Karolina Pliskova in the US Open final.

"Being more aggressive and go for it when I have the chance," she said. "Not just hitting balls over the net. I know that when I [was] practicing I can be aggressive. Just make the transfer on the match court -- that was the challenge.

"And also, mentally being more positive, a little bit more stronger, and just focusing on the moment I am on court."

In the past, adversity sometimes brought on bad body language that reflected her doubt. After losing the second set to Pliskova in New York, Kerber's manner remained upbeat.

"I just told myself, 'OK, stay positive. Believe in your game,'" Kerber told reporters after the match. "I was thinking a little bit on the final in Australia, where I was also in the third set. I believed then in my game, and I did it today as well. So that was in my mind to stop the negative emotions and change it again in a positive way."

For athletes, there is a powerful correlation between all things physical and mental. When world No. 1s Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic were nursing injuries this year, they sometimes became visibly and uncharacteristically frustrated on the court. Mind under matter, as it were.

Angelique Kerber kicked off her 2016 season with her first career Grand Slam title, at the Australian Open. Issei Kato/Reuters

For Kerber, it was the other way around. After building a best-ever fitness base by bringing new intensity to her work in the gym and on the practice courts, she employed her more aggressive philosophy and, finally, in the moments that mattered most, prevailed.

Before Kerber, the last WTA player to win two majors outside Serena was Belgium's Justine Henin, who took the French Open and US Open titles in 2007. She was 25 years old and subsequently would retire twice, never to win another major. The trajectory of Amelie Mauresmo is more similar to Kerber's. The Frenchwoman was 26 when she won her only two majors, the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon, and was ranked No. 1 for 34 weeks. She made the semifinals of the US Open that year, too, but in the 11 majors that followed never advanced past the fourth round.

Kerber looked weary following the clay-court season, losing her first matches in Madrid, Rome and Paris. The opening-round loss to Kiki Bertens at Roland Garros was a bracing wake-up call for Kerber, who rallied to reach the finals at Wimbledon (losing to Serena) and the Rio Olympics (Monica Puig) before winning the US Open.

There, she acknowledged the uncomfortable weight of being a Grand Slam champion.

"I'm ready to have this pressure on my shoulder," she said, responding to a question about entering 2017 as the No. 1-ranked player. "Because I think I get used to all of this, especially after my first Grand Slam in Australia. I had so much pressure after the title."

The swiftly changing landscape at the top of the women's game should make for a fascinating 2017. What does Serena Williams have left? Can Maria Sharapova return to Grand Slam form when she comes back from a drug ban in the spring? When will Victoria Azarenka, soon due to give birth to her first child, get back on the court? Is Garbine Muguruza ready to build on her French Open win? Which of the young top-10 players -- Madison Keys, Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, Johanna Konta -- will step up and win her first Slam?

And what to expect from Kerber?

"It used to be, back in the day, that it was a damn good year if you won one," Gilbert said. "Two is outrageous.

"The hardest thing to do after being great for the first time is to back it up. If she can be in the finals of two Slams and win one, that would be a great year."

That doesn't sound like Kerber's goal for 2017.

"Being No. 1, of course now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose," she said. "I will try to take this challenge because it will be a little bit new situation for me. Now I can take the next step and try to [stay] as long as I can there."