US Open Tennis 2016: Women's Final Schedule, Prediction and Prize Money
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images
Karolina Pliskova defeated Serena Williams and advanced to the U.S. Open final.
Serena Williams will not play in the U.S. Open final for the second year in a row.
She was stopped in the semifinal by Karolina Pliskova, just as she was halted by Roberta Vinci a year ago.
But unlike Vinci, who used touch and placement to force Williams into errors, Pliskova showed off her remarkable power with her groundstrokes and her serve to win her match by a 6-2, 7-6 (5) score.
The 10th-seeded Pliskova will meet second-seeded Angelique Kerber, who rolled past unseeded Caroline Wozniacki by a 6-4, 6-3 score in the second women's semifinal.
Pliskova and Kerber will square off Saturday in a 4 p.m. ET match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The winner of the championship will earn $3.5 million, while the loser of the title match will take home a check for $1.75 million.
Williams did not move at her usual pace during her semifinal, and she appeared to be having problems with her left knee.
| Angelique Kerber (2) vs. Karolina Pliskova (10) | Sept. 10 | 4 p.m. | ESPN | Kerber |
USOpen.org; Silverman prediction
"I don’t think much went well today," Williams told reporters (h/t Nick McCarvel of USA Today). "I made a lot of errors. I didn’t play as well as I’ve been playing."
While Williams had problems, Pliskova was on top of her game. She had seven aces and hung in there in the second set when Williams tried to rally.
"I had a goal today: to beat Serena," Pliskova said in her on-court interview (h/t Greg Garber of ESPN.com). "And that's what I did. I don't believe it. Actually, I do believe it. I knew I could beat anyone if I'm playing my game."
Pliskova won six matches to get to the final, and all of her matches except her fourth-round victory over Venus Williams came in straight sets. Venus extended Pliskova to three sets, as she won the first set before Pliskova took over in the second and third.
Even though Pliskova has already had a noteworthy tournament by beating both Williams sisters and getting to the championship round, it seems unlikely she will beat Kerber.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty ImagesAngelique Kerber
Kerber has had a magnificent year. She won the Australian Open and finished as the runner-up at Wimbledon to Serena Williams. She will earn her second Grand Slam title of the year if she beats Pliskova.
Williams' loss to Pliskova meant that Kerber supplanted her and moved into the No. 1 spot in the rankings. That development and her defeat of Wozniacki gave the German star a thrill.
"It's just incredible," Kerber told Garber. "Yeah, it's a great day. I just tried to focus on this match. To be in the final, to be No. 1 in the world, it sounds amazing."
Pliskova is a strong player who has had an outstanding tournament. Victories over the Williams sisters demonstrate her strength and consistency, and she has the power to push Kerber hard in the championship match.
However, Kerber is going to cap off her brilliant season by taking the U.S. Open title. She will be forced to play three sets, but Kerber will show off her consistency and athleticism with a memorable performance and a victory.
No comments