Pliskova Ends S. Williams US Open Run

By ESPN

A year after she was stunned in a US Open semifinal, it happened again to Serena Williams.

This time the upset was crafted by No. 10 seed Karolina Pliskova, a hard-hitting 24-year-old from the Czech Republic, who ended Williams' most recent run at history 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Williams, who double-faulted on match point, said her left knee, which she thought was injured during a second-round match, was a factor Thursday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I'm not going to sit here and make an excuse," the 34-year-old Williams said.

Williams' coach wasn't so diplomatic.

"Since the start, it was terrible," Patrick Mouratoglou said. "She was slow, very, very slow. Much slower than usual."

Mouratoglou said the injury obviously affected Williams on the court, and she tried to compensate by playing a riskier style than usual.

"At the end she tried to go for the winner on every shot," Mouratoglou said. "This with an injury. Even if she wins the second [set], it's not the point; she's not going to win the third. She cannot move. There is no match."

While Williams is acknowledged to have the greatest serve ever in the women's game, it was second best against Pliskova, who had seven aces and won 84 percent of her first-serve points.

Angelique Kerber earned the No. 1 ranking before she stepped on court, then she went out and looked like a top-ranked player.

Kerber has reached her third major final of the year after dispatching Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets at the US Open. The German won the first four games en route to a 6-4, 6-3 victory that set up a rematch with Karolina Pliskova, who denied Kerber the No. 1 ranking a few weeks ago at the Cincinnati Open final.

At the start of 2016, Kerber had never made a Grand Slam final. She could end the year as a two-time major champ.

In January, she advanced to the Australian Open title match and beat Serena Williams. Kerber also played for the championship at Wimbledon; however, she lost to Williams.