Entering the U.S. Open final on Saturday, Angelique Kerber had already wrested the No. 1 ranking in the world from Serena Williams.
Now the German needed to beat the woman who stunned Serena in the semifinals to capture her first U.S. Open crown.
It turned into quite the historic weekend for Kerber, who won her second Grand Slam title of 2016 by fending off No. 10 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, under extremely hot and humid conditions in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Kerber, the No. 2 seed, won her WTA Tour-leading 54th match of 2016. She also picked up a winner’s check worth $3.5 million.
After Pliskova sailed a forehand wide on match point, Kerber fell to her back on the stadium court and then climbed into the stands to hug her coach, Torben Beltz. After returning to the court and sitting down, Kerber was reduced to tears of joy.
“It’s just amazing,” Kerber said in an on-court interview. “I won my second Grand Slam in one year, that’s the best year in my career.
The 28-year-old left-hander will officially become No. 1 in the world on Monday, the first German since Steffi Graf to accomplish that feat. Now she has two major titles to go with it. Kerber beat Serena to win the Australian Open in January and also reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost to Williams.
Kerber Tops Karolina For U.S. Open Title
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