Angelique Kerber, of Germany, poses with the WTA No. 1 trophy after winning the women’s single final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in NY.
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Overall, though, let’s take a minute to appreciate Kerber’s season: victor at the Australian Open, runner-up at Wimbledon, silver medalist at the Olympics, champion of the U.S. Open and, last but certainly not least, world #1.
Kerber, 28, won in NY on Saturday evening to claim her second Grand Slam title win after her triumph at the Australian Open in January. So, I mean, what she did for the sport, it’s just incredible.
Yet it’s also starting to feel real, she added. But the crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium was clearly on her side and with that support she rallied and started nailing big forehands as she took the second set 6-4.
“I was trying to stay in the moment, be aggressive, I was just trying to enjoy the final”.
Williams is now No. 2, followed by French Open champion Garbine Muguruza at No. 3, Agnieszka Radwanska at No. 4, Simona Halep at No. 5, and Pliskova at a career-best of No. 6.
Look hard enough and it has not been difficult to find Maria Sharapova at this US Open.
This year, Kerber, no spring chicken at 28, beat Williams in the Australian Open final. For years, she was a good player and not a great player.
She went on to stun Serena Williams in the final, though that achievement wasn’t easy to handle at first.
Moreover, with the victory in the final, Kerber becomes the first German since Steffi Graf in 1996 to win the US Open title.
“For sure, when I was growing up, Steffi was my idol”, Kerber said.
She made another final at Wimbledon, playing well but losing the rematch with Williams because, as Kerber put it, “Serena was the better player on this day”.
Pliskova, though, was not the only one eagerly awaiting the release of the new rankings.
Kerber, who collected $3.5 million in prize money Saturday, lost to Pliskova the last time they met, just three weeks ago in the final of a hard-court tournament in Cincinnati. Williams led 4-3 and 5-4 in the decider but couldn’t hang on, Pliskova taking it when Williams delivered her sixth double-fault of the match.
Kerber took advantage of Pliskova’s miscues to open the match with a break.
Having won the Australian Open title earlier this year and after finishing runner-up at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics, the German sealed the World no 1 spot with her triumph in NY.
Faced with the challenge, Kerber admitted she was “a little negative” in the second set. “She deserved to win today”.
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“I was shaking in the locker room”, he said, adding that during his last minute discussions with coach Magnus Norman, he started to cry. She explained that her confidence came from knowing exactly what will happen after the final, win or lose, so she could just go out there and play.
