NEW YORK — Entering the US Open final on Saturday, Angelique Kerber had already wrested the No. 1 ranking in the world from Serena Williams.
Now she needed to beat the woman who stunned Serena in the semifinals to capture her first US 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 before 25,268 in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Kerber, the No. 2 seed, won her 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 Ashe 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. It’s actually just incredible because everything starts here 2011 [when she lost in the semifinals] and now I’m here 2016 five years later and I’m standing here with a second Grand Slam trophy and it means everything to me. Thank you so much for the whole support, you’re just amazing.”
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