U.S. Open 2016: New No. 1 Angelique Kerber cruises past Caroline Wozniacki into finals

Dejan Kalinic

U.S. Open 2016: New No. 1 Angelique Kerber cruises past Caroline Wozniacki into finals image

Angelique Kerber moved into her third grand slam final of the year Thursday with a comfortable semifinal win over Caroline Wozniacki at the U.S. Open.

Kerber, who took over from Serena Williams as world No. 1 after the American's loss earlier in the evening at Flushing Meadows, recorded a 6-4, 6-3 win over Denmark's Wozniacki. The Australian Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up will face Williams' conqueror, Karolina Pliskova, in the decider.

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Kerber was characteristically consistent in the semifinal, while Wozniacki — a two-time runner-up in New York — made too many errors.

Wozniacki, whose run was her best at a major since reaching the 2014 decider at Flushing Meadows, committed 26 unforced errors.

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Kerber made a strong start, racing out to a 4-0 lead before Wozniacki finally started to work her way into the match. Wozniacki managed to get one of those breaks back, but her poor start proved costly as Kerber closed out the first set. When Kerber broke to start the second, she was in control, and she turned that into a 4-1 advantage.

Again, Wozniacki managed to pull one of those breaks back, but Kerber responded to seal victory.

Kerber holds a 4-3 record against Pliskova, who denied the German the No. 1 ranking with a win in the Cincinnati final last month.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Kerber (2) def. Wozniacki 6-4 6-3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS 
Kerber – 19/16
Wozniacki – 21/26

ACES 
Kerber – 0
Wozniacki – 2

BREAK POINTS WON  
Kerber – 5/12
Wozniacki – 2/3

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE  
Kerber – 58
Wozniacki – 68

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE 
Kerber – 68/55
Wozniacki – 57/32

TOTAL POINTS  
Kerber – 65
Wozniacki – 52

Dejan Kalinic