Karolína Plíšková Stuns Serena Williams to Reach US Open Final

US tennis star Serena Williams, currently the top-ranked female in the world, was seeking a record 7th US Open title this week in Cincinnati.

But Czech upstart Karolína Plíšková, a 10th seed in the tournament, got in her way.

Plíšková dramatically topped Serena 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) in a second-set tiebreaker in US Open semifinals action yesterday, ending the US star’s quest for a record 23 major wins, which would be an Open-era record.

“I think if she had played any less then maybe I would have had a chance,” Williams was quoted saying after the match.

“So I think I wasn’t at 100%, but I also think she played well. She deserved to win today.”

24-year-old Plíšková was ranked 11th by the WTA heading into the US Open, but her performance all but guarantees a big rise through the top 10.

And Serena is likely to be dethroned from her top ranking by Germany’s Angelique Kerber, who Plíšková will face in Finals action at 16:00 US time (22:00 in the Czech Republic) on Saturday.

Plíšková is the first Czech to reach the US Open final since Helena Suková in 1993, a span of almost the young star’s entire life.

Should she win, she’ll become the first Czech since Martina Navratilova in 1987, though Navratilova had become a US émigré by that point.

In Olympics action, Šafářová & Strýcová topped country-mates Lucie Hradecká & Andrea Hlaváčková for a bronze medal in women’s doubles, while Hradecká & Radek Štěpánek won bronze in mixed doubles and Petra Kvitová took home the same in women’s singles.