Kerber, 28, adds the US Open to her victory at the Australian Open in January.
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The second-seed showcased a gritty performance as she rallied from a break down in the third set to surpass the hard-hitting 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the summit showdown that lasted two hours and seven minutes.
“Everyone was still saying to me, “you can win a grand slam” and I was like, “yeah, maybe”.
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.
However, one of her few blips in 2016 came recently in Cincinnati when she went down 6-3 6-1 to Pliskova in the final.
Pliskova won’t be a deer in the Open spotlight in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It was just the next step to beat the best players”, she said.
At 4-4, Kerber kept her calm and ended a spectacular run with a love game.
Pliskova served out to even the match, the first time the entire tournament that Kerber had dropped a set.
“I’m so proud of myself”, she said of her performance at Flushing Meadows – both over the last two weeks and in the final.
She was four for five on break-point opportunities, overall.
Pliskova showed life midway through the second set when she finally broke Kerber’s serve for the first time.
At the 2016 Australian Open, she reached the third round for a second successive year but again lost to Russian Makarova.
But the 24-year-old Pliskova flipped the script by stunning an injured Serena in straight sets in the semifinals Thursday, marking the second straight year that Williams – a 22-time Grand Slam victor – was ousted in the semis. She had never been past the third round at a major. That’s essentially how she swiped Serena’s No. 1 ranking. She is the first lefty women’s player to win the Open since Monica Seles in 1992 and only fourth overall.
A look at Karolina Pliskova’s surprise victory and Angelique Kerber’s rise to No. 1.
Admittedly, this was not the women’s final most of tennis was hoping for.
This was the first back to back match for either semifinalist, Williams, Pliskova, Kerber or Wozniacki during this season’s Open, playing both Wednesday and Thursday night.
Her rocket to the baseline on the next point left Kerber helpless and the match was level at two sets apiece.
“It’s just incredible. It’s a great day”, Kerber said on court.
Has an identical twin sister, Kristyna, who won the girls’ singles championship at Wimbledon in 2010.
The win for Czech 10th seed Pliskova meant the 34-year-old American was deposed as the world’s top player, losing her chance to stay at the peak for a record 187 weeks. Graf went on to win the Grand Slam that year – all four majors – and an Olympic gold medal.
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The top-seeded Serena Williams suffered a defeat against the 10th seed Karolina Pliskova during their semifinals match in U.S. Open 2016.
