New world tennis champion Angelique Kerber to meet Pliskova in final as Serena William looses

Former tennis champion Serena Williams suffered more semi-final heartbreak as Karolina Pliskova set up a final date with new world No.1 Angelique Kerber.

World tennis champion Angelique Kerber [PHOTO: COURTESY]

Serena Williams was again upset in the US Open semi-finals, this time courtesy a dispiriting 6-2 7-6 (7-5) loss to Czech 10th seed Karolina Pliskova. A year ago Williams arrived in the final four of the Grand Slam when unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci, a 300-to-1 longshot, recorded one of the biggest upsets in major tennis.

According to U.K media outlet, Yahoo sports, Williams, who had to reach the final to have any chance of retaining top spot, relinquished the ranking to Germany's Angelique Kerber. Serena had been in the top spot for the last 186 weeks, a run which tied Graf for the longest streak in history.

Pliskova, who became the first Czech woman to make the US Open final since Helena Suková in 1993, played a flawless first set, helped by her thumping first serve. She relinquished a break advantage midway in the second but prevailed in a tense tiebreak.