New York: No.10 seed Karolina Pliskova pulled off the best win of her career by knocking out World No.1 Serena Williams to reach her first Grand Slam final at US Open, here on Thursday.

Pliskova beat Williams 6-2, 7-6(5) in the semifinals to set up a final clash with Angelique Kerber who defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final. Meanwhile, Kerber displaced Serena from the No. 1 ranking.

"It was always a dream to, you know, get a title, get to the semifinal, get to the final," Pliskova said in her post-match press conference. "So, I mean, it's a big result for me. I hope I didn't stop yet, that there is still one more step to go. I'll do anything for getting the title. Even if I don't get it, it's a big result. I'm really happy to be there and even have the chance to play in the final here. It doesn't happen often that you're playing a semifinal against Serena on center court here in New York. It doesn't happen often that you're in the final of Grand Slams,” said Pliskova, according to www.wtatennis.com.

Pliskova struck seven aces and won 84% of first serve points. Serena, meanwhile, appeared to struggle with a left leg injury that was later confirmed by coach Patrick Mourataglou. Pushing Pliskova into a second set tie-break, the World No.1 threw in a sixth double fault to end the contest after just 85 minutes.

Meanwhile, Kerber, who won the Australian Open in January and was Wimbledon runner-up in July, is the first German woman to reach the final in New York since Steffi Graf in 1996. Angelique Kerber will become the new WTA World No.1 when updated rankings are released on Monday, September 12. The 28-year-old becomes only the second German woman to achieve this historic milestone since computer rankings were introduced in 1975. She is also the oldest player to make her debut at No.1, a record previously held by Jennifer Capriati, who was 25 years, 200 days when she reached No.1 in October 2001.