New Delhi:
German second seed Angelique Kerber was crowned the 2016 US Open women's Singles champion after winning the grand finale against tenth seed Karolina Pliskovia on September 10.
In a pulsating grand finale played out on Saturday evening at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Kerber defeated her tenth seed Czech opponent in three sets with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline. Kerber drew first blood by winning the opening set but Pliskova drew level by winning the second set. Kerber held her nerves by overcoming a break of serve in the third set to eventually seal the title.
It was the German's second grand slam title of the year, after winning the Australian Open in the beginning of the season. Kerber had also made it to the Wimbledon final in July. The victory also marked Kerber's sweet revenge for over Pliskova as the Czech had overpowered the German in the finals of the Cincinnati Masters last month.
Kerber has led some sort of a renaissance in tennis German which had witnessed a downfall in recent times post their hey days in the late 80s and 90s with Graf and Becker .
The grand slam title also helped Kerber to cement her place as the Number One tennis player in the world.
Meanwhile finalist Pliskova would take great confidence from her stupendous outing at Flushing Meadows. Her maiden grand slam final appeareance was the best grand slam result of her career, which promises to offer a lot.
Kerber was ecstatic after victory and made the following comments -
“It was everything, I think, because of all the pressure in the last few months,” Kerber said. “To win here is very special for me. Everything starts for me here in 2011. This Grand Slam is really, really special.”
Lauding her fighting spirit, Kerber;s coach Torben Beltz lauded his by quoting the following:
“You saw it in the match,” Kerber’s coach, Torben Beltz, said of the changes in his pupil. “If she’s a break down, she never gives up. I think she never gives up. She’s the fighter she was before, but right now she believes more in herself. You really see that she doesn’t want to lose and wants to go for her shots. She has more self-confidence, and that’s very important for her.”
