and she goes for it.Kerber is the first woman from Germany to win the U.S. Open -- and the first to get to No. 1 -- since her idol and mentor, Steffi Gra

NEW YORK -- Early in what would become a tight test of a U.S. Open final, Angelique Kerber sprinted forward to somehow reach a drop shot and scoop a down-the-line winner that landed in a corner of the court.The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd roared, and Kerber celebrated by raising her right hand and wagging her index finger in the air, as if to remind opponent Karolina Pliskova -- and everyone else -- Im No. 1!Yes, she is. And a two-time Grand Slam champion, too.Kerber won her first U.S. Open title and the second major trophy of an out-of-nowhere breakthrough season, taking five of the last six games to beat a fading Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday.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 the 28-year-old Kerber, who will move up one spot from No. 2 and replace Serena Williams atop the WTA rankings on Monday. I mean, all the dreams came true this year.Never a Grand Slam finalist before 2016, Kerber beat Williams for the Australian Open title in January, then was the runner-up to her at Wimbledon in July. Adding the championship at Flushing Meadows was further proof that all of the changes Kerber has made are paying off.The better fitness, via extra time in the gym and longer, more intense practice sessions; an improved serve and a new willingness to attack during points, rather than mainly counter-punching, via instruction from coach Torben Beltz; a more positive attitude on court, via help from a mental coach.Of course, now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose, Kerber said. I will try to take this challenge.On Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Kerber trailed by a break at 3-1 in the third set before coming back against the 10th-seeded Pliskova, who hadnt been past the third round at a major until this tournament.It didnt look good, Beltz said about the deficit. But I think thats also her strength. Because ... if she sees she still has a chance, shes grabbing it and she goes for it.Kerber is the first woman from Germany to win the U.S. Open -- and the first to get to No. 1 -- since her idol and mentor, Steffi Graf, who got in touch via text message before the final.It was Pliskova who guaranteed Kerbers ascension in the rankings by beating Williams in the semifinals, ending her streak of 186 consecutive weeks at the top, which began in February 2013 and equaled Grafs mark.Kerber, who collected $3.5 million in prize money Saturday, lost to Pliskova the last time they met, just three weeks ago in the final of a hard-court tournament in Cincinnati.But at the outset of this final, it was Kerber who was in charge. Her defense is exemplary, scrambling along the baseline to put her racket on seemingly every ball, crouching so low that her knees would come close to scraping the ground.As she does against most opponents, Kerber would make Pliskova swing two, three, four extra times to try to end a point. And Pliskova was troubled by that in the early going, making 17 unforced errors in the first set alone, 14 more than Kerber. By the conclusion of the 2-hour, 7-minute final, Pliskova totaled 47 unforced errors, 30 more than Kerber.With Angie, you cannot wait for mistakes, Pliskova said. She doesnt give you anything.Kerber won the toss and elected to receive, perhaps for two reasons: Her serve remains the biggest question mark in a game otherwise full of answers, and it made sense to force Pliskova to deal with an early test of nerves. Either way, the decision worked: Pliskova double-faulted on the matchs first point and got broken from the get-go.But Pliskova hung in there. And after frittering away her first four break points, she converted her fifth with a lob-volley winner that curled over Kerber and alit right by the baseline. Suddenly up 4-3 in the set, Pliskova turned to her coach up in the stands and yelled, pumping her fists.Now it was a match, filled with terrific points, tense moments and plenty of emotion. Pliskova served out the second set -- the only one dropped by Kerber all tournament -- and spiked a ball. Kerber got broken early in the third and bounced her racket off the court. Moments later, she trailed 3-1.But this was Kerbers turn to show some mettle, breaking back to 3-all and again to end it. She dropped on her back after the last point, then climbed into the stands to begin the celebration with her coach and others.I mean, definitely, I would say now that she deserves to be No. 1, Pliskova said. And after years (when) Serena was there, I think its a nice change.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Demetris Nichols Jersey Signed . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. J.R. Bremer Jersey Signed . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. https://www.cheapnbajerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Terrence Jones Jersey Signed . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Bob Riley Jersey Signed . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Australia have left open the possibility of playing four fast men and leaving out offspinner Nathan Lyon at the Gabba, choosing not to name their XI on the eve of the match.South Australia swing bowler Chadd Sayers would be in line for a Test debut if the selectors went down that path, and he has recent pink-ball form on his side, having claimed eight wickets in his most recent Shield game against New South Wales in Adelaide.We want to have another look at the wicket today and determine which way we want to go from there, captain Steven Smith said on Wednesday. Asked if that meant four fast bowlers could be included, Smith replied: Its possible, yes.On Tuesday, Lyon had said he was confident of being part of the XI at the Gabba, which is second only to Adelaide Oval on his list of most productive Test venues.Ill tell you one thing, this is my sixth [Gabba] Test and every year you guys seem to write that, Lyon said on Tuesday. So Ill leave you guys to write that, that theres going to be four quicks and stuff. Im confident of playing, Ill put it that way.Not only has Lyon been successful at the Gabba, he has also had plenty of bowling to do, averaging nearly 19 overs per innings there in his five Tests at the venue. The Gabba was also the ground at which Shane Warne took more Test wickets than any other.But Smith said the preponderance of right-handers in Pakistans line-up - opener Sami Aslam is the only leftt-hander in their top seven - could also play a part in Australias selection decision.ddddddddddddI need to have another look at the wicket to determine how much grass there is on the wicket, Smith said. Its obviously a different opposition, Pakistan have a lot of right-hand batters, which might come into the equation. But well wait and see.However, one thing that does not appear to be on the cards is the inclusion of Sayers in place of Jackson Bird. Bird picked up three wickets against South Africa at Adelaide Oval and looks set to retain his spot for another pink-ball Test.I daresay Jackson will probably play, Smith said. He played the last game and played pretty well, so I daresay hell be in.Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell jnr said on Wednesday that he would be cutting the grass down to a height of two millimetres for this Test, well down on the six millimetres left on for the Adelaide Test but a standard height for the Gabba. He did not expect the pitch to perform especially differently to a day Gabba Test.Im expecting there will be some life in it early but in saying that its out under the elements till one oclock so maybe not as lively, maybe it will dry out a touch more before the start of play, Mitchell said. But it wont behave too much differently to our normal Test deck. ' ' '