Kerber celebrates No.1

She will emulate Graf as US Open champion if she gets the better of Karolina Pliskova, who stunned Serena Williams 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) in her semi-final, in Saturday’s championship match.

“I don’t think much went well today”, she said of losing to first-time major semifinalist Pliskova.

“If I can’t turn around after 24 hours and play again then I shouldn’t be on tour”.

Williams also surrendered her No. 1 world ranking, which she had held for a record-tying 186 consecutive weeks with Steffi Graf.

Her rise into the final also included wins over seeded players Venus Williams and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Angelique Kerber capped off a night on which she was confirmed as the new world number with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals of the US Open.

Meanwhile, Williams, stuck on 22 majors, finished the Grand Slam year with just one major – Wimbledon – despite making the finals in the first two. “I wasn’t exhausted from yesterday’s match”, said Williams. “I don’t care who I will play in the final”.

“I knew I was going to play one of the Williams sisters on centre court (in the semis) with all the people against me, and I was prepared for it”.

Pliskova is still riding the wave of momentum her Cincinnati triumph over Kerber sparked. “I have been having some serious left knee problems”.

On paper, Pliskova, the first Czech in the U.S. Open final since Helena Sukova lost to Graf in 1993, is the tournament leader.

It is the second consecutive year that Williams has crashed out of the USA tournament at the semifinal stage in surprise circumstances, after Roberta Vinci beat her in 2015.

“We play every single week”, she said.

She certainly appeared to have her mind elsewhere as she slipped 2-0 down in the second set before a 27-shot rally in the third game helped her open her account. “So many simple, simple shots that I easily could have made”, Williams said.

It took Williams 50 minutes to get her first break point as Pliskova quashed her returns, while attacking the American’s second serve.

For years there has been no one – who has managed to reach close enough to the American but now this year Kerber has finally stepped up as a challenger. “I fought all I could and just came up a bit short”. “I mean, it’s my third Grand Slam final now in one year, so I just try to enjoy it”.

Kerber beat Williams in Melbourne before losing to her in the final at Wimbledon, but it is a new face in Pliskova she will be facing this weekend after the Czech’s stunning victory in NY.

Williams herself refused to take anything away from Pliskova, but admitted that her knee was a significant issue both physically and mentally.