Kerber won her first U.S. Open title and the second major trophy of an out-of-nowhere breakthrough season, taking five of the last six games to beat a fading Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday.
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Playing for World No.1 at the Western & Southern Open, she made it all the way to the final and went one better at the US Open to claim her second Grand Slam. “I won my second Grand Slam in one year”.
“I am even fitter now than earlier this year”, Kerber added.
After the Czech broke for a 2-1 lead early in the decider, Kerber appeared to be in deep trouble.
The 28-year-old left-hander, who beat Serena Williams in the final at Melbourne and lost to the USA great in the Wimbledon final, will officially rise to world number one on Monday.
Then she reached the finals of the US Open against Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova.
“I was always dreaming to being one day to being No. 1 and to be in the Grand Slams”, Kerber said.
Furthermore, before NY, the world No. 11 had never progressed beyond the third round of a Grand Slam tournament in 17 attempts.
With a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over the surprising Pliskova, Kerber bookended the Gram Slam season with her second major of the year. She plays because she loves the game which is why her failures are so important.
When her final forehand sailed out, Kerber was launched on a joyous celebration, climbing into the stands to greet her coach. She was able to pull herself out of her penchant for an emotional tailspin, and get back on track quickly.
There were plenty of lengthy exchanges in the first set and Kerber tended to get the better of them, winning nine of 14 points that lasted at least 10 strokes. She was always my idol and I told her that so many times.
Kerber seized her chance with a forehand down the line to pocket the first frame in 44 minutes, having committed just three unforced errors.
Pliskova served out to even the match, the first time the entire tournament that Kerber had dropped a set. 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. Pliskova served out the second set and spiked a ball.
Kerber’s final round was a nail-biting 3-3 deciding set. Two errors gave a break back to Kerber in the sixth game.
Pliskova couldn’t maintain the advantage. That continued a pattern that carried throughout: Djokovic, as good a returner as there is in the game – now, certainly, and perhaps ever – managed to convert only 3 of 17 break chances.
Kerber said if you believe in your fitness, you believe in yourself. If she didn’t fail, she wouldn’t be where she is today or become the greatest player in the world without the incident in 2001.
“When I was a kid”, Kerber said after the match. “To win in Cincinnati was the biggest title of my career”, she said.
She said her first call after her Australian Open triumph would be to her grandparents in Puszczykowo, Poland, where they run the Centrum Tenisowe Angie tennis academy and where the Bremen-born Kerber is now based.
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“Definitely I would say now that she deserves to be No. 1 because she did so well”, said Karolina Pliskova, who upset Serena in the semifinals before falling to Kerber in three sets in Saturday’s women’s final.
