When German Angelique Kerber defeated Czech Karina Pliskova at the U.S Open on Saturday by a score of 6-3,4-6 and 6-4, she won her second Grand Slam tournament of the year and replaced Serena Williams as world number one, a rank the American held for 186 straight weeks.
The 28-year-old Kerber, who already this year won the Australian Open and lost the Wimbledon final, has risen to the top of women’s world tennis in what has been a fantastic season. This year she has played in seven finals while winning three of them, but most importantly two of the triumphs were at Grand Slam tournaments.
Kerber, who at 28 became the oldest WTA player to reach world number 1, has become the first German woman to win the U.S Open since Steffi Graf did in 1996. She is also the first German to hold the top rank of the WTA since Graf held it on March 30, 1997.
For winning the U.S Open Kerber took home $3.5 million dollars, while Pliskova earned $1,750,000 for reaching the final that lasted a little over two hours.
Pliskova, who defeated Serena Williams in the semifinals, was playing in her fourth final of the year. She was looking for victory number three after winning the Nottingham Open in June and Cincinnati Open in August, where she defeated Kerber in two sets.
