For the second straight year Serena Williams saw her bid for a seventh U.S. Open title halted in the semi-finals with a 6-2 7-6 (5) loss to Karolina Pliskova on Thursday that also ended her long reign as world number one.
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The soon-to-be new women’s world No. 1 tennis player wore a neon pink top, multi-colored skirt and a stare that would wilt any opponent, including the Dane across the net in Thursday night’s U.S. Open semifinal.
Pliskova showed her happiness in the post-match interaction with the media wing as she told ” I don’t believe it. Beating Serena Williams is a big thing for me as she is a great champion”. I think if she had played any less then maybe I would have had a chance, said Williams. “But after the match I would say it’s still her choice if she wants to play”.
Murray and Soares, the Australian Open champs, scored a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the top-seeded team of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who won Wimbledon this year after taking their first Grand Slam title last year at Flushing Meadows.
The 24-year-old Pliskova also became just the fourth player to beat both Williams sisters at the same Slam after Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis.
“I definitely wasn’t exhausted”, she said.
“Sure she has a lot of confidence, ” Kerber said of Pliskova said. “Even if she’s losing, not playing her best, it’s always tough to beat girls like this”, said Pliskova. If I was exhausted, I need to find a new career.
She defeated the German left-hander in the Cincinnati final on the eve of the US Open. “I was making errors on simple and simple shots, just blame that on thinking on my leg”, she added.
“It was not so easy to go on court because I knew before I started that if Serena lost of course that I will be the number one”, Kerber said. “Before the match I felt a little bit like pressure, a bit nervous”. Serena Williams’ loss assured Kerber of the world No. 1 ranking. “I wasn’t exhausted from yesterday’s match”.
For years there has been no one – who has managed to reach close enough to the American but now this year Kerber has finally stepped up as a challenger.
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The result guarantees that Kerber will overtake Williams at the top of the rankings after the US Open. “I mean, it’s my third Grand Slam final now in one year, so I just try to enjoy it”. “She deserved to win today”, Williams was quoted saying in a BBC report.
