Kerber vs. Pliskova: Score, Reaction from US Open 2016 Women's Final

New world No. 1 Angelique Kerber won her second Grand Slam title Saturday afternoon, defeating Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the U.S. Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York. 

The U.S. Open showed match point:

Below are the statistics from the final:

Pliskova	Stat	Kerber
5	Aces	1
4	Double Faults	2
40/53 (79%)	Win % On First Serve	43/62 (69%)
14/36 (39%)	Win % On Second Serve	19/36 (53%)
28/38 (74%)	Net Points Won	3/6 (50%)
2/7 (29%)	Break Points Won	4/5 (80%)
40	Winners	21
47	Unforced Errors	17

Kerber's and Pliskova's conflicting styles have made their matches entertaining over the years. In seven previous meetings, Kerber held a 4-3 advantage.

The 6'1", 159-pound Pliskova uses her height and momentum to generate power, while Kerber plays a finesse game with pinpoint accuracy. 

The steamy New York conditions played into Kerber's favor, as she elongated points and got Pliskova on the move. The more the underdog had to do so, the less power and accuracy she could harness, inducing mistakes.

Pliskova committed 47 unforced errors, compared to Kerber's 17, per USOpen.org.

Pliskova had 17 unforced errors in the first set alone as she fell into a 2-0 hole.

Nick McCarvel of USA Today broke down Pliskova's tough start:

After Kerber took the first two games, Pliskova took advantage of her big serve, which topped out at 111 mph, to take the third game and get on the board.

The U.S. Open showed one of her finest points of the match, which helped her get to within one game of Kerber:

But Pliskova's inability to break Kerber allowed the German to take the first set, 6-3. 

Kerber hit sly shots of her own, as Eurosport TR showed:

For Kerber, winning the first set was a good omen, as she was 44-0 entering Saturday when getting an early lead, per the ESPN telecast.

History was also on her side, as the U.S. Open noted:

Pliskova had an opportunity to break Kerber for the first time in the third game of the second set, but for the fourth time, she let the chance slip away as both players held for the first five games. 

Finally, on her fifth attempt, Pliskova broke Kerber to take her first lead of the day, a 4-3 second-set advantage.

It was apparent how big of a break it was, courtesy of Eurosport TR:

After holding her next serve, the Czech went up by two games in the second set. She closed out the set in the 10th game, forcing a winner-take-all third set for the first time in a U.S. Open final since 2013, per Joshua Hoyos of ABC.

It was also the first set Kerber had lost at the U.S. Open this year. 

After two holds to start the third set, Pliskova again broke Kerber, who was having difficulty getting her first serve in, to take a 2-1 lead.

Pliskova held to take a two-game lead, but Kerber came back with a hold of her own to make it 3-2, much to the delight of the WTA:

Kerber wasn't done, though. After a pair of unforced errors by Pliskova in the sixth game, the German won her first break point since the first set, knotting the third set at three games apiece.

Highlighted by a brilliant forehand shot that skimmed down the left side of the court to put her up 40-30, Kerber retook the lead, 4-3. 

An exhausted Pliskova scraped the bottom of the stamina barrel and held the eighth game to tie things up, but the energized Kerber wrested the lead back with four straight points.

With extra sets looming, Kerber clinched her title in the 10th game, shutting out Pliskova again.

Kerber becomes the second woman in the Open era to win her first two Grand Slam titles after the age of 28, joining Li Na, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Regardless of the result, Kerber was going to get the top world ranking Monday after Pliskova ousted Serena Williams in straight sets during the semifinals, ending Williams' 186-week reign as the world's best women's tennis player, per the ESPN telecast.

Stats courtesy of USOpen.org.