Serena Williams Loses Number One Spot After Shocking U.S Open Ouster
Serena Williams[/caption]
Czech Republic 10th seed, Karolina Pliskova ended top seed Serena Williams bid for a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title, after defeating the 34-year-old American to set up a US Open final with German second seed Angelique Kerber.
The big-serving Czech outclassed Williams 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to ultimately end her reign as world number one and deprive her of a chance to stay at the peak for a record 187 weeks.
In Saturday’s championship match, Pliskova will tackle second seed Kerber who marked her coronation as the new world number one with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.
Advertisement
Serena remains tied with Steffi Graf for both Grand Slam titles, and the WTA record of 186 successive weeks as world number one.
“Karolina played great today,” said Williams, who revealed she had been battling an injured left knee since earlier in the tournament.
“I think if she had played any less then maybe I would have had a chance. So I think I wasn’t at 100%, but I also think she played well. She deserved to win today.”
It marks the second straight year Williams has fallen at the penultimate hurdle in a bid for history at the season-ending major. Last September, a three-set loss to the unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci torpedoed her challenge for a calendar-year grand slam.
Advertisement
Speaking on getting to her maiden US Open final and pipping Serena to the world number one, Kerber said: “It’s just incredible, it’s a great day, to be here in the final for the first time means a lot and to be number one in the world – it sounds amazing.”
