Kerber reaches No 1 and makes final

Reaching top of the world seemed to agree with Angelique Kerber, who celebrated her ascension to world No 1 with a 6-4 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday to advance to the US Open final.

The German left-hander was assured of becoming number one when the new rankings come out on Monday after top-seeded American Serena Williams was defeated by Czech 10th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-2 7-6(5) in the earlier semifinal.

Australian Open champion Kerber, who leads the WTA for most main draw match wins this season at 53-14, clinched victory with a backhand that actually landed just beyond the baseline but went unchallenged by former number one Wozniacki of Denmark.