“When I was a kid I was always dreaming to one day be the No. 1 player in the world, to win Grand Slams. And today is the day. All the dreams came true this year.” — Angelique Kerber
What a year indeed for Angie Kerber: 3 Grand Slam finals, silver at the Olympics and the number one spot. Here’s a look at Kerber’s career by the numbers:
2003: Kerber turned pro in 2003, aged 15
2012: she wins her first WTA tournament, the Open GDF in Paris, defeating Marion Bartoli in the final
10: Kerber has won 10 tournaments in her career so far
0: she has never won a Premier tournament (the WTA’s equivalent to the ATP Masters 1000)
10: her rankings at the start of the season
8730: her number of WTA points
22: Kerber became the 22nd player to reach the number one spot since the WTA ranking was introduced in November 1975.
1: at 28 years old, she became the oldest female player to debut at the top spot.
2: she’s the second German player to reach number one, 21 years after her idol Steffi Graf.
3: she’s only the third left-handed player, after Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles.
Video credit: C Yorkie
The good
Stan Wawrinka: there’s a new champ in New York. The Swiss struggled to get past the first rounds, losing a few sets here and there and saving a match point in the third round. But he stepped up in the semifinals against Nishikori and outplayed Djokovic in the final. 3 Grand Slam finals, 3 titles.
Karolina Pliskova: before this tournament, she had not passed the third round in her 17 previous Grand Slams appearances. She took down Venus Williams and top-seeded Serena Williams to reach her first Grand Slam final.
Amazing two weeks in NY..thank you @usopen..thank you guys for all the support it means a lot to me♥️ pic.twitter.com/ukA1HjnRsF
— Karolina Pliskova (@KaPliskova) September 11, 2016
Caroline Wozniacki: she’s two years younger than Kerber but it seems she’s been on the circuit for ever. She beat Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys en route to the semifinals.
“I came into this tournament ranked No. 74 in the world and probably people ruled me out, but it’s nice to prove people wrong once again.”
Lucas Pouille: he reached the quarterfinals after 5-sets marathon wins over Chiudinelli, Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal. He seems to be the only French player to have both the game and the attitude. A player to watch out next year.
Laura Siegemund and Mate Pavic: they had never met before this tournament. They teamed up to win the mixed doubles title defeating CoCo Vandeweghe and Rajeev Ram in the final.
“It’s really kind of a blind date.”
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares: they joined forces at the beginning of the season and won 2 Slam titles (the Australian and US Opens) since then.
The bad
Garbine Muguruza: the French Open champion was knocked out of the tournament by Anastasija Sevastova in the second round.
“Today was just very difficult. Everything I was trying to do she was coming back and doing incredible shots.”
Aga Radwanska: overpowered by 18-year old Ana Konjuh in the quarterfinals. The question is no more “when will she win her maiden Slam” but rather “will she ever win a Slam”.
Andy Murray: beaten by Nishikori in a bizarre match, he seemed mentally tired. He’ll now focus on the Davis Cup semifinals against Argentina.
“I tried my best. I fought as hard as I could with what I had. I didn’t let anyone down — certainly not myself. I pushed myself as hard as I could over the last few months, and I’m very proud of how I have done.”
Milos Raonic: a shock defeat to qualifier Ryan Harrison in the second round. His explanation: cramps due to nervousness, (nervous to play Ryan Harrison?).
Marin Cilic: the 2014 champion looked like a title contender again but surprisingly fell to Jack Sock in the third round.
Gaël Monfils: what on earth was he doing against Novak Djokovic? Not sure he knows it himself. What a waste of talent.
Bernard Tomic: nothing to add.
The queen
She started the year ranked number 10 with a large defeat to Victoria Azarenka in the final of the Brisbane tournament. A couple weeks later she stunned Azarenka and Serena to win the Australian Open.
Fast forward 8 months Angelique Kerber is now the new number one and took home a second Slam trophy.
Is it the beginning of a new era for women’s tennis?
Photo credit: Satoshi Tsuboi
One walkover, two retirements and Gael Monfils that’s how we could sum Novak Djokovic‘s US Open campaign so far.
Novak Djokovic’s road to the final
Round | Opponent | Score |
R1 | Jerzy Janowicz | 6-3 5-7 6-2 6-1 |
R2 | Jiri Vesely | wo |
R3 | Mikhail Youzhny | 4-2 ret. |
R4 | Kyle Edmund | 6-2 6-1 6-4 |
QF | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [9] | 6-3 6-2 |
SF | Gaël Monfils [10] | 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-2 |
Stan Wawrinka’s road to the final
Despite he had to face only one seeded player en route to the final, Wawrinka‘s US Open campaign has been rather chaotic: he lost a few sets here and there and even had to save a match point in his third-round match against Dan Evans.
Round | Opponent | Score |
R1 | Fernando Verdasco | 7-6 6-4 6-4 |
R2 | Alessandro Giannessi | 6-2 7-6(7) |
R3 | Dan Evans | 4-6 6-3 6-7 7-6 6-2 |
R4 | Illya Marchenko | 6-4 6-1 5-7 6-3 |
QF | Juan Martin del Potro | 7-6 4-6 6-3 6-2 |
SF | Kei Nishikori [6] | 4-6 7-5 6-4 6-2 |
Novak Djokovic – Stan Wawrinka head to head: 19-4
Djokovic won 80% of their meetings, but Wawrinka won their only previous Grand Slam final match, at Roland Garros 2015. Who do you think will win?
Year | Tournament | Surface | Winner | Score |
2015 | Bercy Masters SF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6-3 3-6 6-0 |
2015 | Cincinnati QF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6-4 6-1 |
2015 | Roland Garros F | Clay | Stan Wawrinka | 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 |
2015 | Australian Open SF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7-6 3-6 6-4 4-6 6-0 |
2014 | London Masters RR | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6-3 6-0 |
2014 | Australian Open QF | Hard | Stan Wawrinka | 2-6 6-4 6-2 3-6 9-7 |
2013 | London Masters SF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6-3 6-3 |
2013 | Bercy Masters QF | Grass | Novak Djokovic | 6-1 6-4 |
2013 | US Open SF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 2-6 7-6 3-6 6-3 6-4 |
2013 | Australian Open R16 | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7 12-10 |
2012 | Madrid R16 | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 7-6 6-4 |
2011 | Rome R16 | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 6-4 6-1 |
2011 | Monte Carlo R16 | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 6-4 6-4 |
2009 | Basel QF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 3-6 7-6 6-2 |
2009 | Monte Carlo SF | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 4-6 6-1 6-3 |
2009 | Indian Wells R16 | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7-6 7-6 |
2008 | Rome F | Clay | Novak Djokovic | 4-6 6-3 6-3 |
2008 | Indian Wells QF | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 7-6 6-2 |
2007 | Vienna F | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6-4 6-0 |
2006 | Vienna R16 | Hard | Stan Wawrinka | 6-3 6-3 |
2006 | Davis Cup | Hard | Novak Djokovic | 6-4 3-6 2-6 7-6 6-4 |
2006 | Umag F | Clay | Stan Wawrinka | 6-6 ret |
Who will win the 2016 US Open?
- Novak Djokovic (45%, 62 Votes)
- Andy Murray (27%, 38 Votes)
- Rafael Nadal (17%, 24 Votes)
- Stan Wawrinka (4%, 5 Votes)
- Someone else (3%, 4 Votes)
- Kei Nishikori (1%, 2 Votes)
- Gael Monfils (1%, 2 Votes)
- Milos Raonic (1%, 1 Votes)
- Marin Cilic (1%, 1 Votes)
- Dominic Thiem (0%, 0 Votes)
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 139

Photo credit: @justdjoking
Read more:
– Novak Djokovic at practice
– Novak Djokovic 2016 US Open outfit
– Stan Wawrinka 2016 US Open outfit
– 2016 US Open coverage
Angelique Kerber defeated Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets and booked her third Grand Slam final of the year, she will also become the new world number one on Monday.
Angie is adidas‘ top tennis star, she wears adidas multifaceted pro top and skort:
adidas US Open collection is available at adidas.com/tennis
Photo credit: Luis Fonseca, adidas
In 2012, Yonex signed Stan Wawrinka to a full contract including racquets, apparel, shoes and bag. Two years later, the Japanese brand agreed to re-sign the Swiss champion in a record US$20 million deal for four years. The deal is reported to be the most most lucrative contract in Yonex´s history.
Here’s the outfit he’s been wearing at this year’s US Open:
Photo credit: Marianne Bevis, Yonex