<p>Angelique Kerber marked her elevation to the world number one ranking by reaching the US Open final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Caroline Wozniacki.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 28-year-old left-hander, who won the Australian Open in January and was Wimbledon runner-up in July, is the first German woman to reach the final in New York since Steffi Graf in 1996.<br /><br />She will emulate Graf as US Open champion if she gets the better of Karolina Pliskova, who stunned Serena Williams 6-2 7-6 (7/5) in her semi-final, in Saturday's championship match.<br />Graf is also the only other German woman to achieve the top ranking.<br /><br />"It's incredible to be in the final and to be the world number one, it's a great day," said Kerber who has made the final without dropping a set.<br /><br />The German leads Pliskova 4-3 in their head to heads, but the Czech won their most recent meeting in the Cincinnati final last month.<br /><br />Just moments after becoming the oldest first-time world number one, Kerber raced out of the blocks against the Dane, a two-time runner-up at the tournament.<br /><br />Two breaks of serve gave her a 4-0 lead after just 15 minutes, conceding only five points in the process and she had two more break points in the fifth which a desperately scrambling Wozniacki saved to finally get on the board.<br /><br />The 26-year-old Wozniacki, a former number one, consulted a page of scribbled notes in the changeover and the handy hints proved just that as she retrieved a break to go 2-4.<br /><br />Wozniacki saved two set points in the ninth game but the German left-hander secured the opener on serve at the next time of asking.<br /><br />Wozniacki, down at 74 in the world after missing almost three months of the season with an ankle injury, had refused on the eve of her fifth semi-final in New York to dampen speculation that she was on the brink of announcing her retirement.<br /><br />She certainly appeared to have her mind elsewhere as she slipped 2-0 down in the second set before a 27-shot rally in the third game helped her open her account.<br /><br />Kerber was ruthless in her pursuit, breaking again for a 4-1 lead before she cracked when serving for the match, getting broken to love.<br /><br />It was a brief respite as she then broke for the fifth time in the match to march into a third Grand Slam final of the year.<br /><br />Wozniacki at least has the consolation of knowing her surprise run to a fifth semi-final in the city where she keeps a second home will translate to a place back in the world top 30.</p>
<p>Angelique Kerber marked her elevation to the world number one ranking by reaching the US Open final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Caroline Wozniacki.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 28-year-old left-hander, who won the Australian Open in January and was Wimbledon runner-up in July, is the first German woman to reach the final in New York since Steffi Graf in 1996.<br /><br />She will emulate Graf as US Open champion if she gets the better of Karolina Pliskova, who stunned Serena Williams 6-2 7-6 (7/5) in her semi-final, in Saturday's championship match.<br />Graf is also the only other German woman to achieve the top ranking.<br /><br />"It's incredible to be in the final and to be the world number one, it's a great day," said Kerber who has made the final without dropping a set.<br /><br />The German leads Pliskova 4-3 in their head to heads, but the Czech won their most recent meeting in the Cincinnati final last month.<br /><br />Just moments after becoming the oldest first-time world number one, Kerber raced out of the blocks against the Dane, a two-time runner-up at the tournament.<br /><br />Two breaks of serve gave her a 4-0 lead after just 15 minutes, conceding only five points in the process and she had two more break points in the fifth which a desperately scrambling Wozniacki saved to finally get on the board.<br /><br />The 26-year-old Wozniacki, a former number one, consulted a page of scribbled notes in the changeover and the handy hints proved just that as she retrieved a break to go 2-4.<br /><br />Wozniacki saved two set points in the ninth game but the German left-hander secured the opener on serve at the next time of asking.<br /><br />Wozniacki, down at 74 in the world after missing almost three months of the season with an ankle injury, had refused on the eve of her fifth semi-final in New York to dampen speculation that she was on the brink of announcing her retirement.<br /><br />She certainly appeared to have her mind elsewhere as she slipped 2-0 down in the second set before a 27-shot rally in the third game helped her open her account.<br /><br />Kerber was ruthless in her pursuit, breaking again for a 4-1 lead before she cracked when serving for the match, getting broken to love.<br /><br />It was a brief respite as she then broke for the fifth time in the match to march into a third Grand Slam final of the year.<br /><br />Wozniacki at least has the consolation of knowing her surprise run to a fifth semi-final in the city where she keeps a second home will translate to a place back in the world top 30.</p>