NEW YORK _ Angelique Kerber walked off with more than a U.S. Open semifinal win over Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday night.
Combined with Serena Williams' loss in the early semifinal to Karolina Pliskova, Kerber will be the No. 1 player in the world when the rankings come out on Monday. Williams had been No. 1 for 186 consecutive weeks, tying her for the longest reign atop the rankings ladder with Steffi Graf. Kerber will be the 22nd player to be No. 1 since the rankings began, and the second German behind Graf.
"It's just incredible, a great day," Kerber said. "To be here in final is incredible. To be No. 1 in the world, it sounds amazing."
Kerber won the Australian Open in January, beating Williams in the final for her first Grand Slam title. She was upset in the first round of the French Open, but made the final at Wimbledon where she lost to Williams. Now in her third Grand Slam final of the year, she faces Pliskova, who beat her in Cincinnati, Saturday for the title.
"I will try take revenge against her," said Kerber, giddy with emotion. "She has a big serve and I know how she's playing and she's playing very well."
Wozniacki had a tough, injury-plagued season that saw he fall to No. 74 in the world and was unseeded here after being the fourth seed last year. The Open is where she's had her greatest success, and finally healthy, she made her fifth semifinal here. She lost in the final twice, to Kim Clijsters in 2009 and Williams in 2014.
"At the end of the day it's been a good tournament, something to be proud of," Wozniacki said. "I came in 74th in the world and people probably didn't expect much of me, but I'm glad to prove people wrong sometimes."
Kerber raced off to a 4-0 lead in the first set, which echoed back to Wozniacki's second-round match against Svetlana Kuznetsova who held the same lead. She roared back to win in two sets against Kuznetsova, but Kerber is playing at another level. In the end Wozniacki made it respectable, but Kerber made it impossible for the comeback.
To do something that countrywoman Graf had done lit up Kerber. "To be the No. 1 player (as a German)," Kerber said, "I think she would be proud of me."
