- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Five years ago, back in 2011, a 23-year-old German named Angelique Kerber arrived in New York with very little expectations.
Ranked 92nd in the world, Kerber was not expected to do well; in fact she had lost in the first round at the three other major tournaments that year.
However, a shock victory over twelfth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round would set the tone for one of the most surprising runs in recent Grand Slam history.
Seemingly inspired by compatriot Sabine Lisicki’s run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, Kerber would ride the momentum from her win over Radwanska to reach the final four at a major for the first time before losing to eventual champion Samantha Stosur in three sets, after which she would rise to 34th in the world.
Five years on from that breakthrough run in New York, Kerber will leave the city as a two-time Grand Slam champion, and the new world number one, having accrued enough points to overtake Serena Williams at the summit of the rankings.
The German, now 28, defeated 10th seed Karolina Pliskova, who had conquered both Williams sisters en route to the final, in three sets to claim her second Grand Slam title to go with the maiden title she won at the Australian Open in January.
Kerber won the toss and chose to receive first, and it paid off immediately as she broke Pliskova to start the match. A consolidation of that break would see her move ahead 2-0, before she broke once more to take the opening set 6-3.
However, Pliskova is one never to give up and a break in the seventh game of the second set would see her take a 4-3 lead. Suddenly, the match was level at a set apiece, the same situation Kerber found herself in against Serena Williams at Melbourne Park seven-and-a-half months ago.
After the Czech broke for a 2-1 lead early in the decider, Kerber appeared to be in deep trouble.
However, the German would break back for 3-all, and then broke to love in the tenth and final game to take the match in three sets, and thus win her second Grand Slam title.
It was the perfect way for Kerber to mark her ascent to the top of the rankings, which came about after Pliskova defeated Serena Williams in the semi-finals in straight sets.
By contrast, the 28-year-old had very little points to defend from last year, having lost to Victoria Azarenka in the third round last year. That match was considered by many to be the best Grand Slam match of 2015.
While she starts embarking on what is hoped to be a long stint at the top of the WTA rankings, the race to finish the year on top will go down to the wire in the final two months of the season.
Serena Williams may have been knocked off her perch after 186 consecutive weeks, but the matter of the fact is that she has no points to defend for the rest of the year, having pulled the pin on her season this time twelve months ago.
Seemingly mentally and physically scarred by her shock semi-final loss to Roberta Vinci at the US Open, which ended her bid for a calendar Grand Slam, Williams would not serve another ball in anger for the remainder of 2015.
Because of this, the American, who will turn 35 in a fortnight, can now earn fresh points at will as she attempts to regain her place at the top of the rankings.
There are still tournaments to be played in Wuhan and Beijing, which offer 900 and 1,000 rankings points for the champion respectively, before the WTA Finals (up to 1,500 points on offer for the champion there) are contested in Singapore by the top eight women in the world.
As of today, Angelique Kerber’s lead on Serena Williams is 1,680 points.
But while Williams will do all she can to get back her number one ranking, which she had held since February 2013, Kerber will be keen to make it her own for as long as she can hold it.
To finish off, congratulations to the German for winning her second Grand Slam title, and commiserations to Karolina Pliskova, who after a successful fortnight in New York will rise to sixth in the world rankings when they are updated today.
This leaves only the women’s doubles title, the men’s singles title and the two junior singles titles to be decided on Monday morning.
Matches to watch on Day 14
Arthur Ashe Stadium
Day session – not before 12:00pm (2:00am AEST)
Women’s doubles final
Caroline Garcia (FRA) [1]/Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) [1] versus Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) [12]/Lucie Safarova (CZE) [12]
Men’s singles final – not before 4:00pm (6:00am AEST)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) [1] versus Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [3]
Grandstand
Day session – not before 12:00pm (2:00am AEST)
Men’s champions doubles
Pat Cash (AUS)/Mark Philippoussis (AUS) versus John McEnroe (USA)/Patrick McEnroe (USA)
Girls’ singles final
Viktoria Kuzmova (SVK) [13] versus Kayla Day (USA) [5]
Boy’s singles final
Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) [6] versus Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) [5]
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.