Kristina Mladenovic, of France, right, hugs doubles partner Caroline Garcia, of France, after winning their semifinal match against Martina Hingis, of Switzerland, and Coco Vandeweghe, of the United States, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, in NY.
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“Karolina played great today”. Venus extended Pliskova to three sets, as she won the first set before Pliskova took over in the second and third.
– At 186 consecutive weeks, the American’s most recent stay at No.1 ties the Open Era record for most consecutive weeks at No.1 held by Graf.
Like Saturday, there was a title at stake. This is the most important thing: Grand Slams can hinge on one serve or one groundstroke or one clip of the tape.
Williams, 34, refused to discuss the number one ranking, which she gives up to German Angelique Kerber. Now she is ranked 6 but she can expect to go higher when the latest rankings will be announced on Monday.
Kerber beat Karolina Pliskova in a thriller, 6-3 4-6 6-4, to win the US Open and claim her second grand slam title of 2016.
‘I tried not to over-think at this in the last few weeks, although now I achieved this performance. “So it’s something really special for me”.
Angelique Kerber didn’t quite know what to say.
“America probably hates me because I beat Venus and Serena”, the 24-year-old said after the match, as she beat both Williams sisters in this same U.S. Open. Now if she can manage to pull off another upset win over Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber tomorrow in NY, it will bring a smile to the faces of those who saw her in action in Dubai previous year.
“I know what to change”, Kerber said of Cincinnati. She gets good angles.
She also wasn’t having the notion that she was exhausted after playing her quarterfinal match on Wednesday.
The German tennis player became the official 22nd player in history who occupies the No.1 position on the WTA tour. Everyone wants to beat the No. 1 player in the world.
“If someone is not ready and she doesn’t think she is ready, she should not go on the court”.
The current generation does not carry that burden, approaching matches against her as trophy hunters would a big game hunt. So many simple, simple shots that I easily could have made. But after a number of first-round defeats, Kerber has shown that technique can be improved and that setbacks don’t keep her down.
“I think I will go out there trying to get my next chance against her and take the revenge”, she said.
The match offers an intriguing contrast in styles.
Pliskova, who has led the WTA Tour in aces the last two seasons, kept the 34-year-old American under pressure nearly from the start and had break chances on all but one of Williams’ service games in the first set and converting twice.
The 10th-seeded Pliskova had never even been to the round of 16 at a major before she blew past that milestone at the U.S. Open.
The 5-foot-8 Kerber, meanwhile, is terrific at retrieving and counter-punching, dropping down to a knee at times along the baseline to get balls back.
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At least she has the consolation of knowing her surprise run to a fifth semi-final in the city where she keeps a second home will translate to a place back in the world top 30.
