Angelique Kerber beat former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-finals of the US Open on Friday to reach her third major final this year. The second seed German beat the Danish player 6-4, 6-3 to enter the final, where she will face 10th seed Karolina Pliskova, who knocked out Serena Williams 6-2, 7-6(5) earlier in the day.
With Williams falling to Pliskova, Kerber secured the world No. 1 ranking regardless of the outcome in the final. The German wrapped up the match in under 90 minutes and with the form that she is in, Pliskova needs to replicate her performance against Williams to beat her. Kerber and Pliskova met in the Cincinnati final recently, where the 24-year-old Czech won the match 6-3, 6-1. If Kerber had won that match, she would have been world No. 1.
Before 2016, Kerber had never made it to a Grand Slam final. However, she won the Australian Open by beating Williams in the final and followed it up with reaching the summit clash at Wimbledon, where she lost to the American. Now, she will look to end the year on a high by winning at Flushing Meadows. Kerber will also become only the second German after Steffi Graf to be world No. 1.
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