Angelique Kerber wins first U.S. Open title

Image via Zimbio; Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America

Germany's Angelique Kerber didn't disappoint as the new world number one after a thrilling win over Czech Karolina Pliskova in the US Open final.

Kerber, 28, won 6-3 4-6 6-4 in New York to add the US Open to her victory at the Australian Open early this year.

“It means a lot to me. When I was a kid, I was always dreaming to one day be the No. 1 player in the world, to win Grand Slams,” said Kerber.

“I mean, all the dreams came true this year, and I’m just trying to enjoy every moment on court and also off court.”

Image via Zimbio; Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America

Pliskova's semi-final win over Serena Williams few days ago had already ensured Kerber will top the new rankings on Monday. Pliskova ended Serena's record-tying 186-week stay at the top, which began in February 2013.

Kerber, who collected $3.5 million in prize money, had lost to Pliskova the last time they met, which was just three weeks ago in the final of a hard-court tournament in Cincinnati.

Image via Zimbio; Source: Al Bello/Getty Images North America

“She really proved she’s the world No. 1,” Pliskova told the fans. Then she addressed Kerber directly, saying: “It was a great match, and I’m very honored to play with you.”

Via CBS News and Yahoo! Sports

Former French Tennis Champion Marion Bartoli to Run 2016 TCS New York City Marathon

Marion Bartoli, the 2013 Wimbledon Singles Champion and former top-ten player in the world, announced today that she will run the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon as a New York Road Runners Team for Kids runner on Sunday, November 6, 2016.

Image via Team For Kids/Marion Bartoli's Fundraiser

Bartoli will raise funds for NYRR’s Team for Kids, the TCS New York City Marathon’s largest charity running team that raises funds for NYRR’s free youth running programs in New York City and across the country, by using NYRR’s partner fundraising platform, CrowdRise. Donations to Team for Kids on behalf of Bartoli’s run can be made at www.crowdrise.com/marionb.

Bartoli, 31, born in Le Puy en Velay, France, reached the highest ranking of No. 7 in the world during her career. Throughout her 13-year professional career she reached the quarterfinal stage of each of the four Grand Slams and was runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships before prevailing in 2013.

“It is an honor to announce that I will run my first marathon this fall, and it is with great excitement that I will do so at the TCS New York City Marathon in November,” Bartoli said. “After recently falling ill from a terrible virus and embarking on a long road to recovery, I have set my sights on the TCS New York City Marathon as my next goal.”

Since retiring from professional tennis, Bartoli has turned to broadcasting and fashion design. She is currently a broadcaster for Eurosport at the 2016 US Open and has graduated with a degree in fashion print from the prestigious design school, Central Saint Martins in London.

As a Team for Kids runner, Bartoli will be a part of a committed group of more than 1,700 adult runners from around the world who add meaning to their miles by raising funds for NYRR’s free youth running programs. These programs serve more than 215,000 kids locally and nationally, including more than 115,000 in New York City’s five boroughs.

Bartoli hopes that her story of setting an ambitious goal such as running a marathon after a severe illness will be an inspiration to kids in NYRR’s programs letting them know that nothing is impossible.

Press release

Five legends boasting 60 Grand Slam singles titles gather for Laver Cup

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal say they plan to play doubles together when the Laver Cup debuts at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic next year.

With a combined 31 Grand Slam titles, Federer and Nadal have committed to the inaugural event, which is an attempt to create a tennis version of golf’s Ryder Cup. The tournament will be played from 22-24 September.

Named after Australian tennis great Rod Laver, a team of European players will face off against a group from the rest of the world. Future Laver Cups will rotate between major cities across the globe. The three-day Laver Cup will be scheduled two weeks after the U.S. Open each year, except for Summer Olympic years.

Former rivals Bjorn Borg (representing Europe) and John McEnroe (representing World team) were announced Wednesday as captains.

Images by Laver Cup/Ben Solomon

Serena Williams eliminated from Olympics

Image via Zimbio

Top ranked women’s tennis player and defending Olympic champion Serena Williams was added to the list of upsets at the Rio Olympics this week after losing to unheralded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the third round of the tournament. With the tennis betting odds favorite on the women’s side eliminated, the Olympic Gold is up for grabs.

The loss by Williams comes a day after she and her sister, Venus, were eliminated from the doubles competition. Prior to the loss, The Williams sisters had been undefeated in Olympic doubles play, dating back to their first Olympics in 2000.

Against Svitolina, Williams was her own worst enemy, shanking all sorts of shots and committing 37 unforced errors and 17 forced errors. Things were so bad for the top ranked female player, she double faulted five times.

By the end of the match, Svitolina won 63 points, but only nine of them were from clean winners, the others were from Williams’ errors.

Williams, who won the Gold medal in singles and doubles at the London Olympics, goes home empty handed this time. Svitolina, who is ranked 22nd in the world, had never played in an Olympics before, and has been to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam only once in her career.

However, the Ukrainian, who had lost her previous four matches against Williams, final defeated the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

Even though a lot of attention will be paid to the fact that Williams committed a lot of errors, Svitolina did what she had to do to defeat one of the most dominant female tennis player of all time. The Ukrainian was fearless, and used her groundstrokes to keep Williams where she wanted her.

Svitolina also did a great job of keeping her emotions in check after making big plays during the match, which was instrumental to her success.

Williams has been down in a few matches over the years, and has made a habit of finding a way to overcome her bad play and turn things around during a match. Svitolina’s emotional restraint helped her in the sense that she didn’t provide Williams with any added motivation by celebrating too much after winning points.

While the loss to Svitolina might have been surprising to some fans and even Williams herself, it is something that was eventually going to happen given how much Williams has played with fire recently.

During the Australian and French Opens, Williams found herself behind a few of her opponents because of unforced errors and other mental mistakes, but she was able to advance to the finals. However, it was obvious she wasn’t as confident in her game as she was in 2015, when she dominated her opponents on the way to winning three out of four Grand Slams.

When she played in the finals, Williams lost to opponents that she normally wouldn’t have had problems with because they were able to make her pay for her mistakes, which was what Svitolina did to her this week.

With Williams out of the picture, Svitolina has to be considered one of the favorites to win the Olympics since she just defeated the toughest player in the tournament. However, if she lets the win get to her head, she might be the next player heading home.