Now she has won two Major titles, defeating Serena Williams to win the Australian Open in January and then winning in NY by knocking out Pliskova, who defeated both Serena and Venus Williams on her way to the final.
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Already assured of the No. 1 ranking, things got even better for Angelique Kerber at the US Open.
She beat Serena Williams in the Australian Open final, lost to Williams in the Wimbledon final, took home the silver medal from the Olympics in Rio and reached the No. 1 spot when Williams lost to Pliskova in the semifinals.
Pliskova scored a huge break in the third game of the deciding set when she jammed Kerber’s backhand and the German hit it long.
“I beat very good players”.
In the end, Kerber’s experience probably made the difference in the German’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory, Pliskova said. Kerber beat Williams in the Australian Open final. “This is what I remember”, Kerber said.
“I’m so proud of myself”, she said of her performance at Flushing Meadows – both over the last two weeks and in the final. On one that went 15 shots, Pliskova tried a drop shot that Kerber sprinted to reach before scooping a down-the-line forehand victor to a corner.
She trailed by a break at 3-1 in the third set before taking five of the last six games against 10th seed Pliskova, who had not been past the third round at a major until this tournament.
She gained her No. 1 status with her semi-final win over Serena Williams, but will officially get the ranking from the Women’s Tennis Association on Monday.
“When I was a kid, I was always dreaming to one day be the No. 1 player in the world, to win Grand Slams”, said Kerber.
When the Czech served to stay in the match Kerber hit a forehand victor down the line on the first point before Pliskova made three successive errors. Pliskova served out the second set – the only one dropped by Kerber all tournament – and spiked a ball.
Kerber had won the opening set 6-3.
Yes, she is. And a two-time Grand Slam champion, too.
But the 24-year-old Pliskova flipped the script by stunning an injured Serena in straight sets in the semifinals on Thursday, marking the second straight year that Williams – a 22-time Grand Slam victor – was ousted in the semis. “I won my second grand slam in one year”.
Angelique Kerber is one set from her second major title of 2016.
The first Czech woman to reach the final here since Helena Sukova lost to Graf in 1993, Pliskova was bidding to become only the third player ranked outside the world’s top 10 – after Clijsters in 2009 and Flavia Pennetta in 2015 – to win the title.
Having saved the first break point she faced in the second set, but unable to make inroads on Pliskova’s serve, Kerber was beginning to look demoralized by the power shots coming her way. Kerber got broken early in the third and bounced her racket off the court. By the conclusion of the 2-hour, 7-minute final, Pliskova totalled 47 unforced errors, 30 more than Kerber.
Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova are playing for the U.S. Open championship.
Kerber took advantage of Pliskova’s miscues to open the match with a break.
Pliskova beat Kerber in the final at Cincinnati almost three weeks ago for a breakthrough title for the 24-year-old Czech, and she’s been riding that momentum ever since. Serving at 3-5, Pliskova double-faulted to give Kerber a set point, and the German smacked a running forehand up the line to capture the first set.
Early in what would become a tight test of a U.S. Open final, Angelique Kerber sprinted forward to somehow reach a drop shot and scoop a down-the-line victor that landed in a corner of the court.
Kerber and Graf have become friends in recent years and they spent some time practising together in Las Vegas at the end of last season.
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“It’s a great feeling”, Murray said in his post-match interview when reminded he’s accomplished something his more famous younger brother, Andy, has not by winning two major titles this year.
