Germany's Angelique Kerber on Saturday beat Czech player Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the US Open women's final match here to win her second Grand Slam title of the year.
She did not only win the trophy but also sealed the number one ranking for her. She will inherit No1 ranking from Serena Williams on Monday.
Kerber, 28, won in New York to add the US Open to her victory at the Australian Open in January, BBC reported.
It was Pliskova who guaranteed Kerber's ascension in the rankings by beating Williams in the semifinals, ending her streak of 186 consecutive weeks at the top, which began in February 2013 and equaled Graf's mark.
"It means a lot to me. When I was a kid, I was always dreaming to one day be the No. 1 player in the world, to win Grand Slams," said Kerber.
"All my dreams came true today and I am just trying to enjoy the moment. It is incredible. I'm standing here with a second Grand Slam trophy and it means so much to me," she added.
"Of course, now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose," Kerber said. "I will try to take this challenge."
Pliskova, 24, went into the final with a WTA Tour-leading 447 aces this year. The Czech made 17 unforced errors in the first set but fought back with 17 winners in the second before powering 3-1 ahead in the decider.
The German levelled at 3-3 and then roared as a blistering forehand winner helped her move ahead once again.
After 4-4 in the final set, Kerber's rock solid performance helped her the match.
Kerber is the first woman from Germany to win the U.S. Open — and the first to get to No. 1 — since her idol and mentor, Steffi Graf, who got in touch via text message before the final.
Kerber, who collected $3.5 million in prize money Saturday, lost to Pliskova the last time they met, just three weeks ago in the final of a hard-court tournament in Cincinnati.
But at the outset of this final, it was Kerber who was in charge. Her defense is exemplary, scrambling along the baseline to put her racket on seemingly every ball, crouching so low that her knees would come close to scraping the ground.
As she does against most opponents, Kerber would make Pliskova swing two, three, four extra times to try to end a point. And Pliskova was troubled by that in the early going, making 17 unforced errors in the first set alone, 14 more than Kerber. By the conclusion of the 2-hour, 7-minute final, Pliskova totaled 47 unforced errors, 30 more than Kerber.
"With Angie, you cannot wait for mistakes," Pliskova said. "She doesn't give you anything."
Kerber won the toss and elected to receive, perhaps for two reasons: Her serve remains the biggest question mark in a game otherwise full of answers, and it made sense to force Pliskova to deal with an early test of nerves. Either way, the decision worked: Pliskova double-faulted on the match's first point and got broken from the get-go.
But Pliskova hung in there. And after frittering away her first four break points, she converted her fifth with a lob-volley winner that curled over Kerber and alit right by the baseline. Suddenly up 4-3 in the set, Pliskova turned to her coach up in the stands and yelled, pumping her fists.
Now it was a match, filled with terrific points, tense moments and plenty of emotion. Pliskova served out the second set — the only one dropped by Kerber all tournament — and spiked a ball. Kerber got broken early in the third and bounced her racket off the court. Moments later, she trailed 3-1.
But this was Kerber's turn to show some mettle, breaking back to 3-all and again to end it. She dropped on her back after the last point, then climbed into the stands to begin the celebration with her coach and others.
"I mean, definitely, I would say now that she deserves to be No. 1," Pliskova said. "And after years (when) Serena was there, I think it's a nice change."
