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NEW YORK -- Entering the U.S. Open final on Saturday, Angelique Kerber had already wrested the No. 1 ranking in the world from Serena Williams. Now the German needed to beat the woman who stunned Serena in the semifinals to capture her first U.S. Open crown.
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It turned into quite the historic weekend for Kerber, who won her second Grand Slam title of 2016 by fending off No. 10 seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, under extremely hot and humid conditions in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Kerber, the No. 2 seed, won her WTA Tour-leading 54th match of 2016. She also picked up a winner's check worth $3.5 million.
After Pliskova sailed a forehand wide on match point, Kerber fell to her back on the stadium court and then climbed into the stands to hug her coach, Torben Beltz. After returning to the court and sitting down, Kerber was reduced to tears of joy.
"It's just amazing," Kerber said in an on-court interview. "I won my second Grand Slam in one year, that's the best year in my career.
"It's actually just incredible because everything starts here 2011 (when she lost in the semifinals) and now I'm here 2016, five years later, and I'm standing here with a second Grand Slam trophy and it means everything to me. Thank you so much for the whole support, you're just amazing."
The 28-year-old left-hander will officially become No. 1 in the world on Monday, the first German since Steffi Graf to accomplish that feat. Now she has two major titles to go with it. Kerber beat Serena to win the Australian Open in January and also reached the Wimbledon final, where she lost to Williams.
"It means a lot to me," Kerber said. "When I was a kid I was always dreaming to be the No. 1 player in the world, to win Grand Slams and today is the day I won my second Grand Slam, especially here in New York.
"I'm the No. 1 player on Monday and it's just amazing. All my dreams came true this year. I'm trying to enjoy all the moments on court and also off court and it's just incredible."
Many tennis observers had predicted a Williams-Kerber final that would determine the No. 1 ranking and settle who had the better year between the two top players.
But the 24-year-old Pliskova flipped the script by stunning an injured Serena in straight sets in the semifinals on Thursday, marking the second straight year that Williams -- a 22-time Grand Slam winner -- was ousted in the semis.
Without Serena in the final, there were some no-shows and some tickets on the secondary ticket market were going for under $40.
The 6-foot-1 Pliskova was entering her first Grand Slam final and nerves were sure to be a factor, although she did have the confidence of knowing she was riding an 11-match winning streak that included a straight-sets win over Kerber last month in the Cincinnati final.
Kerber, by contrast, was used to competing on the big stage, having played two major finals already this year.
Sure enough, Kerber broke Pliskova twice in the first set, including in the first game of the match en route to a quick 2-0 lead. Serving at 3-5, Pliskova double-faulted to give Kerber a set point, and the German smacked a running forehand up the line to capture the first set.
"I was really trying to stay in the moment, trying to play my game, be aggressive and I was just trying to enjoy the final," Kerber said. "It's an amazing court."
In the second set, Pliskova earned a break in the seventh game when she hit a lovely lob winner to go ahead 4-3.
She held steady with her nerves and closed out the set when Kerber sailed a forehand wide on set point.
Pliskova scored a huge break in the third game of the deciding set when she jammed Kerber's backhand and the German hit it long.
But Kerber got the break back in the sixth game when Pliskova hit a backhand wide on game point. Kerber consolidated on her serve for a 4-3 lead.
Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Pliskova appeared to feel the pressure and lost her serve at love. Kerber won the match when Pliskova hit a forehand wide.
"Congrats to Angie," Pliskova said. "She really proved she's world No. 1. It was a great match and I'm very honored to play with you. Even though I couldn't get the win, I'm very proud of the way I was playing the last three weeks and hopefully many more finals to come."
