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Second-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany kept alive her hopes of taking over the No. 1 ranking by beating Roberta Vinci of Italy 7-5, 6-0 in Tuesday's quarterfinals of the U.S. Open in New York. If Serena Williams loses either her quarterfinal or semifinal match at Flushing Meadow, Kerber would take over the top spot in the rankings. Williams has held that position since Feb. 18, 2013.
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If Williams and Kerber meet in the finals, the winner of that match not only would claim a Grand Slam title but would earn the No. 1 ranking.
"I'm so happy to win it in two sets. To reach the semis here again means a lot to me," said Kerber, who reached the U.S. Open semifinals for the first time in five years.
Kerber struggled in the first set against the seventh-seeded Vinci, who eliminated Williams in last year's U.S. Open.
A finalist at last year's tournament, Vinci was two points from winning the first set, serving at 5-4, 30-all. But she made two errors to lose that opportunity.
Trailing 6-5 and serving at love-40, Vinci missed her first serve and then was called for a foot fault on a second attempt, resulting in a double fault that gave Kerber the set.
"I think it is always difficult to play against Roberta," Kerber said. "She is a great player and played so well last year here. She came out to play good tennis."
Kerber committed 22 unforced errors in the first set, but just three in the second when she brushed aside Vinci with ease, finishing the match by winning the final nine games.
"I'm trying to improve my mental side because I know that I have to stay focused on my game, try to be here in this moment, not think about what happens, think about the positive things, just go for it and try to stay relaxed when it is a little bit close," Kerber said. "It worked well today. I think that was the key in the first set."
Kerber won the Australian Open this year and was a finalist at Wimbledon, and her confidence seems to be growing with each victory.
"(My belief) is bigger, for sure," she said. "It's one of my best years now, so that's why my belief in myself is growing for sure. That's why I think I'm playing like I'm playing right now, that I really going for it with a lot of belief in my game and myself. Yeah, it's changed a lot in the last few months.
"I know that I can beat everybody, and this is what gives me also a lot of confidence and motivation for going out there and playing with a lot of emotion."
Kerber's semifinal opponent will be unseeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who quickly dispatched Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-0, 6-2 in a later quartrfinal match.
Wozniacki has reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam event for the first time since getting to the U.S. Open finals in 2014.
Wozniacki had lost in the first round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in her only other appearances in Grand Slam events this year. Currently ranked No. 74, the 26-year-old Wozniacki was ranked No. 1 as recently as January 2012.
