The loss signals the end of Williams’ long-standing run as the number one women’s tennis player and was reminiscent of her semi-final defeat to unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci a year ago – one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history.
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This year it was Czech 10th seed Pliskova, who until this week had never played beyond the third round of a Grand Slam, delivering the upset as she swept Serena off an Arthur Ashe Stadium court she claims as her own in 86 minutes. – Serena Williams said that neither fatigue nor the problem of her injured left knee caused the defeat against Czech Karolina Pliskova on Thursday during the semifinals of the 2016 US Open Tennis tournament.
Despite battling a shoulder injury, Williams took home her seventh Wimbledon singles title in July to tie Graf’s career Grand Slam record.
For now, though, the 28-year-old can focus on her third grand slam final of the year and her first without the legendary Williams on the other side of the net.
Having ousted Venus Williams in the fourth round – surviving a match point – world No. 11 Pliskova became the first player in six years to beat the Williams sisters at the same edition of a tournament.
“I don’t think much really went well today”.
In Saturday’s championship match, Pliskova will tackle second seed Kerber who marked her coronation as the new world number one with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.
NEW YORK (AP) – Angelique Kerber earned the No. 1 ranking before she stepped on court, then she went out there and looked like a top-ranked player. “Even if she’s losing, not playing her best, it’s always tough to beat girls like this”, said Pliskova. “Being a professional, if I am not able to recover, I am not going to make excuses”. “Obviously, she’s had a great year”, the Dane said. Williams will lose the top spot to Germany’s Angelique Kerber once the new rankings are revealed September 12.
“To be honest, I don’t remember that”, Williams said of the early miscues. Serena is a world class player and beating her in Semifinals is a big thing for me. Though the German lost, she was confident that she would get another chance to prove she is the world number one.
Pliskova, the first Czech woman in the US Open final since Helena Sukova in 1993, said she had not noticed that her opponent was carrying an injury. Thursday night’s match caused Williams to lose her chance at making Grand Slam title history.
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And a big reason why she’s been so successful in NY has been her serving. Oh, and she also made the final at the Olympics, too.
