Kerber is the first German to win the US Open since Steffi Graf in 1996.
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Angelique Kerber won the US Open on Saturday, marking her rise to World No. 1 with a gritty victory over Karolina Pliskova for her second Grand Slam title of the year.
“This mental strength was a life-saver when I was trailing 3-1 in the third set”, she said.
To be number one and win Grand Slam titles was always my dream ever since I was a little girl, Kerber said.
“All the dreams came true this year”, Kerber said.
Kerber, the Olympic silver medallist at the Rio 2016 Olympics, knew she would rise to number one in the rankings when 10th seed Pliskova shocked USA star Serena Williams in the last four.
Germanys Kerber, the second seed, rallied from a break down in the third set to beat the hard-hitting 10th-seeded Czech 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. “I’d like to congratulate you on everything you have done”, said Wawrinka who has now won his last 11 finals.
Kerber was one of the “silent” members of the top 10 coming into the Australian Open but showed the first signs that she was ready to step up when she stormed to the final at Brisbane International – one of the warm-up tournaments before the year’s first Grand Slam.
But at the outset of this final, it was Kerber who was in charge. We all know she’s tough to play and she’s putting so many balls back. Kerber talked about one turning point in the third set, a devastating forehand victor, which she powered down the line at 30-30 in the seventh game of the third set.
She made 47 unforced errors, against just 17 for Kerber, but on the other side of the equation hit almost twice as many winners, 40 to the German’s 21.
When Pliskova’s final forehand sailed out, Kerber launched on a joyous celebration, climbing into the box where coach Torben Beltz was sitting, then returning to the court where the tears flowed. I knew that I have the game to beat the best players and just being patient and working really hard. She made quick work of the first round, beating Ekaterina Makarova in two straight sets and making her way eventually into the semi-finals but then Williams just couldn’t take the heat.
Pliskova vowed not to turn her back on her all-or-nothing game despite it falling short in her three-set defeat to Kerber.
There were plenty of lengthy exchanges in that first set, and Kerber tended to get the better of them, winning 9 of 14 points that lasted at least 10 strokes.
But Pliskova hung in there.
Angelique Kerber (GER) poses with the trophy after her match against Karolina Pliskova (CZE) on day thirteen of the 2016 US Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Kerber, sensing an opening, stepped up the pressure and pace getting triple break point at 5-4 and closed out the contest on the first match point.
The momentum was clearly Pliskova’s at that point and as she bounded to 3-1 in the final set.
The second frame starts with the momentum on the side of Angelique Kerber, as she wins two of the first three games to take an early 2-1 lead.
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Williams certainly didn’t think losing her No. 1 ranking made for a nice change. Pliskova slipped back into that comfort zone that has enveloped her this fortnight.
