Angelique Kerber has moved into the world number one position in the WTA rankings after she registered a straight-sets win over Caroline Wozniacki in the last four of the US Open.
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A resurgent Wozniacki had little resistance on Tuesday when surprise quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastova, the world No. 48, rolled her own ankle badly in the second game of the match.
The 26-year-old Wozniacki fought with moxie in the first set after falling behind 0-4.
“I always believe in myself, no matter what my ranking”, said Wozniacki.
“I had to keep pushing her back and make her move”. Gael Monfils has reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in eight years and 33 Grand Slams, seven of which he missed altogether.
She won the Australian Open in January, then lost to Williams in the Wimbledon final in July.
“It was tough, but what can I do?”
“I was rather positive today, and that’s not normal”.
“I think I was just extra focused, because I saw her fall in that second game”.
Wozniacki sets up a final four showdown with world No. 2 Angelique Kerber who won earlier in the day over Roberta Vinci, a finalist here a year ago, 7-5, 6-0.
The Woz trails Kerber 5-7 in their career meetings, and Kerber won their most recent encounter in Beijing a year ago.
In the second set, Vinci won only 10 points. Though she was able to hold and force Kerber to serve for the set, an error-filled final game handed Kerber the set.
With a third Grand Slam final of the year on the horizon for the German, who finished last year ranked 10th, Kerber couldn’t be distracted despite realising her dream rise to the top of the world rankings. Said Monfils, “I mean, so far (in his career), it’s very hard to remember a match where he wasn’t hitting the ball clean”.
“I remember the semis in 2011”. My mind was just a little bit everywhere.
Player and coach also differed on when Williams was initially hurt: He said it was a new injury that occurred late in her quarterfinal, while she said it first bothered her earlier in the tournament. I could have played unbelievable but still lost. She came out to play good tennis. Bet Kerber win with a handicap – 2.5 for the game.
Kerber would have overtaken Williams for the top spot had she defeated Pliskova in the Cincinnati final August 21.
The risky Dane looked to be heading for a rare double bagel, but Sevastova held serve to huge cheers in the fifth game of the second set. Final or first round, she didn’t win the tournament.
This was a good test for Williams, as she admitted to press after the match.
At last year’s U.S. Open, Vinci stunned Williams in the semifinals, ending the American’s bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam.
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The remaining quarter-finals take place on Wednesday with world number one Williams facing fifth seed Simona Halep of Romania and Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh facing fellow big-hitter, Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
