Angelique Kerber solidifies World No.1 spot with US Open triumph

Johannesburg: German tennis player Angelique Kerber has solidified her place as World No.1 after lifting her maiden US Open title in the women`s singles category at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.

The second-seed showcased a gritty performance as she rallied from a break down in the third set to surpass the hard-hitting 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the summit showdown that lasted two hours and seven minutes.Kerber, who has now added the US Open crown to the Australian Open title she claimed in January, became the first German woman to clinch the title since Steff Graffi claimed the last of her five Flushing Meadows crowns in 1996.

Jubilant with her feat, the 28-year-old hailed the current year as the best of her career as she managed to win two Grand Slams in one year.

The German southpaw will officially replace long-standing incumbent American Serena Williams at the top spot when updated rankings will be released on Monday.

Kerber, who admitted that ranking matters a lot to her, revealed that it was always her dream to rise to the top and win Grand Slam titles, Sport24 reported.

The German also became the oldest player to make her debut at No.1, a record previously held by Jennifer Capriati, who was 25 years when she sealed the top spot in October 2001.

Kerber had already moved to the world number one position in the WTA rankings when she registered straight-sets win over Caroline Wozniacki in the last four of the season`s final major.

Meanwhile, Pliskova, who had never managed to pass the third round of a Grand Slam in her 17 prior attempts, became just the fourth player to beat both Williams sisters in the same Grand Slam.

Pliskova was also the first player to take a set off Kerber at this year`s US Open.