Kerber had won the Australian Open earlier this year after beating Serena Williams, who she recently displaced as world No. 1, in the final.
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In the end, Kerber’s experience probably made the difference in the German’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory, Pliskova said.
Kerber is the first woman from Germany to win the U.S. Open – and the first to get to No. 1 – since her idol and mentor, Steffi Graf, who got in touch via text message before the final.
Having beaten Williams in her first final in Melbourne, Kerber lost to the American in the Wimbledon final and was no doubt grateful to Pliskova for removing her from the tournament here in the semi-finals.
The momentum was with Pliskova, who broke Kerber in the third game of the deciding set and then went 3-1 up.
She broke again to take the first set in the ninth game, scurrying around the court before sending a forehand victor down the line.
Pliskova couldn’t have made a worst start to the match as she lobbed an open volley long, before breaking a string on a forehand as her serve was broken in the first game.
But Kerber rallied before Pliskova finished poorly, losing eight straight points to finish the encounter.
There were plenty of lengthy exchanges in that first set, and Kerber tended to get the better of them, winning nine of 14 points that lasted at least 10 strokes.
Kerber was playing the woman who earned her the world number one ranking.
For Pliskova, there’s no sadness or regrets after competing in such a high-quality, closely contested major final, the first of her career.
“I think I’m ready to have this pressure on my shoulder”, she said.
Pliskova hadn’t been past a third round of a Grand Slam event until the Open. It was a lead she would never relinquish despite coming under pressure from Pliskova. They were on serve at 4-4 and then Kerber won her service game at 0 to make Pliskova serve to stay in the match.
Pliskova had knocked out Serena Williams in the semi-final in NY but could not manage a repeat against Kerber, who becomes the first German US Open champion since Steffi Graf in 1996.
“Even though I couldn’t get the win, I’m still happy with the way I played the last three weeks”.
Asked what she might pass on to her children one day about achieving their dreams, Kerber said. “I don’t think Serena’s going anywhere but it gets more hard as the younger players come up”. “It all started for me here in NY five years ago when I reached the semi-finals and now I am here with the trophy”, she added. Kerber got broken early in the third and bounced her racket off the court. Two errors gave a break back to Kerber in the sixth game.
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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.
