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NEW YORK -- Early in what would become a tight test of a U.S. Open final, Angelique Kerber sprinted forward to somehow reach a drop shot and scoop a down-the-line winner that landed in a corner of the court.The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd roared, and Kerber celebrated by raising her right hand and wagging her index finger in the air, as if to remind opponent Karolina Pliskova -- and everyone else -- Im No. 1!Yes, she is. And a two-time Grand Slam champion, too.Kerber won her first U.S. Open title and the second major trophy of an out-of-nowhere breakthrough season, taking five of the last six games to beat a fading Pliskova 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday.It means a lot to me. When I was a kid, I was always dreaming to one day be the No. 1 player in the world, to win Grand Slams, said the 28-year-old Kerber, who will move up one spot from No. 2 and replace Serena Williams atop the WTA rankings on Monday. I mean, all the dreams came true this year.Never a Grand Slam finalist before 2016, Kerber beat Williams for the Australian Open title in January, then was the runner-up to her at Wimbledon in July. Adding the championship at Flushing Meadows was further proof that all of the changes Kerber has made are paying off.The better fitness, via extra time in the gym and longer, more intense practice sessions; an improved serve and a new willingness to attack during points, rather than mainly counter-punching, via instruction from coach Torben Beltz; a more positive attitude on court, via help from a mental coach.Of course, now everybody will try to beat me and have nothing to lose, Kerber said. I will try to take this challenge.On Saturday, the No. 2-seeded Kerber trailed by a break at 3-1 in the third set before coming back against the 10th-seeded Pliskova, who hadnt been past the third round at a major until this tournament.It didnt look good, Beltz said about the deficit. But I think thats also her strength. Because ... if she sees she still has a chance, shes grabbing it and she goes for it.Kerber is the first woman from Germany to win the U.S. Open -- and the first to get to No. 1 -- since her idol and mentor, Steffi Graf, who got in touch via text message before the final.It was Pliskova who guaranteed Kerbers ascension in the rankings by beating Williams in the semifinals, ending her streak of 186 consecutive weeks at the top, which began in February 2013 and equaled Grafs mark.Kerber, who collected $3.5 million in prize money Saturday, lost to Pliskova the last time they met, just three weeks ago in the final of a hard-court tournament in Cincinnati.But at the outset of this final, it was Kerber who was in charge. Her defense is exemplary, scrambling along the baseline to put her racket on seemingly every ball, crouching so low that her knees would come close to scraping the ground.As she does against most opponents, Kerber would make Pliskova swing two, three, four extra times to try to end a point. And Pliskova was troubled by that in the early going, making 17 unforced errors in the first set alone, 14 more than Kerber. By the conclusion of the 2-hour, 7-minute final, Pliskova totaled 47 unforced errors, 30 more than Kerber.With Angie, you cannot wait for mistakes, Pliskova said. She doesnt give you anything.Kerber won the toss and elected to receive, perhaps for two reasons: Her serve remains the biggest question mark in a game otherwise full of answers, and it made sense to force Pliskova to deal with an early test of nerves. Either way, the decision worked: Pliskova double-faulted on the matchs first point and got broken from the get-go.But Pliskova hung in there. And after frittering away her first four break points, she converted her fifth with a lob-volley winner that curled over Kerber and alit right by the baseline. Suddenly up 4-3 in the set, Pliskova turned to her coach up in the stands and yelled, pumping her fists.Now it was a match, filled with terrific points, tense moments and plenty of emotion. Pliskova served out the second set -- the only one dropped by Kerber all tournament -- and spiked a ball. Kerber got broken early in the third and bounced her racket off the court. Moments later, she trailed 3-1.But this was Kerbers turn to show some mettle, breaking back to 3-all and again to end it. She dropped on her back after the last point, then climbed into the stands to begin the celebration with her coach and others.I mean, definitely, I would say now that she deserves to be No. 1, Pliskova said. 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The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Custom Toronto Blue Jays Nike Jerseys . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays say beer will be poured into cups at their stadium for the rest of the postseason after a fan threw a can at a Baltimore outfielder earlier in the playoffs.The Blue Jays announced enhanced security and alcohol management policies before hosting Game 3 of the AL Division Series against Texas on Sunday night. Toronto leads 2-0 in the best-of-five matchup.On Tuesday night, a spectator at Rogers Centre threw a can that almost hit Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim in the AL wild-card game.Ken Pagan, 41, was charged with mischief after turning himself in to police Thursday. He was released and is due to appear in court in November.Speakking in Washington on Saturday, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he had every confidence we will not have a repeat of Tuesdays can-throwing incident.dddddddddddd.Last year, the Blue Jays banned selling beer cans in the upper deck at their stadium during the AL Championship Series. That move came after fans threw cans on the field earlier in the playoffs during a win over Texas. Beer was instead poured into plastic cups.During the 2013 season, a fan threw a can of beer at Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth during a game in Toronto. ' ' '