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  Serena Williams will be back, warns Angelique Kerber

Serena Williams will be back, warns Angelique Kerber

AFP
Published : Sep 26, 2016, 12:31 am IST
Updated : Sep 26, 2016, 12:31 am IST

Newly minted world number one Angelique Kerber warned Sunday that Serena Williams will come back strong after the German stripped her of her long-held position atop the rankings.

Newly minted world number one Angelique Kerber warned Sunday that Serena Williams will come back strong after the German stripped her of her long-held position atop the rankings.

“I am sure that she (Williams) will (be) coming back strong,” Kerber said in Wuhan, China.

Williams was gunning for her 23rd Grand Slam title at the US Open — that would have taken her past the record she shares with Steffi Graf — when she was cut down by 11th-ranked Karolina Pliskova in the semis.

The Czech’s victory ensured that Kerber, who had been snapping at Williams’ heels for weeks, would rise to number one.

“She will try to win some more Grand Slams and write history for sure,” she said.

Williams pulled out of the Wuhan Open and next week’s China Open in Beijing, almost guaranteeing that Kerber will end the year as world number one.

“The ranking... it’s just a number,” she said.

“I was always telling myself if that day will come... then that would happen, but (I was) not putting too much pressure on myself.”

Needed new face on top: Muguruza French Open winner Garbine Muguruza said Sunday that it was about time women’s tennis had a “new face” at the top, after Angelique Kerber broke Serena Williams’ 186-week dominance atop the rankings.

“I’m happy that we have a new face in the world number one, not because I have a preference, but just because I think it’s good sometimes,” the current world number three.

World number five Simona Halep said that seeing Williams slip from the number one pedestal — where she had sat since February 2013 — had given players a confidence boost.

“It’s much easier to believe in yourself when you see that Serena is not there any more, like, winning every tournament, being number one in the world for years,” said the 24-year-old.

“I feel that everything, it’s open now. I feel that everyone has a chance to win a big tournament, to reach the number one,” said the Romanian.

“Everyone has a chance to reach the top if we believe. And we started to believe more, I think,” she added.

Location: China, Hubei, Wuhan