Having been pushed hard by Venus Williams in the fourth round, the only time she’s been made to play three sets in New York, we expected her duel with Serena to follow a similar path and go the distance.

Pliskova had other ideas and she’ll now prepare for the first Grand Slam final of her career with all the belief, desire and resolve in the world to secure a fairytale ending.
On the other side of the net is Kerber, the provisional world number one hoping to add the US Open title to the one she won in Australia earlier this year.

It’s been an exceptional year for the German ace, as she has produced consistently and delivered when it matters, something that she had been criticised for throughout her career.
The second seed has breezed through the tournament without losing a single set, seeing off Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci and a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki along the way.

History will be made on Saturday with either Kerber winning her first title in New York or Pliskova becoming a Grand Slam champion for the first time, and this encounter promises to be an epic one.

Kerber leads their head-to-head record at 4-3, but crucially, Pliskova won their last meeting just last month in the final at Cincinnati in straight sets.

Where the match will be won

Pliskova’s serve will be crucial, as if it’s on point, she’ll pile the pressure on Kerber. Not only will that bring tension when the German is serving, but if the Czech star finishes off points quickly off the back of the serve, then it could be a nightmare for her opponent.

Further, Kerber needs to show a resolve that she’s been lacking on big occasions in the last month or so. She lost in finals in Cincinnati and the Olympics, and she needs to stop the rot now otherwise it will start to haunt her.

How she copes with the pressure of being the favourite now remains to be seen too, but she has the experience, all-round game and form to prevail.

We’re sticking by our tournament tip to win, but Kerber has a big task on her hands. Expect it to be competitive as these two could easily ‘serve up’ a thriller, which is why we’ve backed a tie-break to be played, but if she can serve well and extend the rallies, then the new world number one will have a trophy to accompany the new rankings on Monday.