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. And after years (when) Serena was there, I think its a nice change.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Cheap Ducks Jerseys . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Custom Ducks Jersey China . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. http://www.customducksjersey.com/ . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. Authentic Custom Ducks Jersey . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Ducks Jerseys China . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. MOSCOW -- Russia is confident that most of its Olympic team will be able to compete in Rio de Janeiro, but its efforts to reinstate banned athletes are a mixed bag.Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko on Friday told local media that 272 of the countrys athletes had been approved by international sports federations, out of an original team of 387, adding that the number could rise.More than 100 Russian athletes have been excluded by sports federations, including a blanket ban on the track and field team and more than 30 rejected under new International Olympic Committee rules.After the World Anti-Doping Agency accused the Russian government of directing a vast doping cover-up, the IOC said it would not allow Russians to compete in Rio if they had previously been banned for doping, were implicated in the alleged cover-up or had not been tested often enough internationally.Most federations have not excluded Russians on the basis of a lack of testing, but rowing and weightlifting are the exceptions.All of Russias weightlifters were banned from the Rio Olympics late on Friday for doping for what the international federation called extremely shocking results that brought the sport into disrepute.The eight competition spots have been offered to other countries.The International Weightlifting Federation said the integrity of the weightlifting sport has been seriously damaged on multiple times and levels by the Russians. It called the punishment an appropriate sanction to preserve the status of the sport.To replace the eight Russian lifters, five countries were offered places in the mens competition -- Belarus, Croatia, El Salvador, Mongolia and Serbia. For the women, Albania, Georgia and Moldova became eligible. Because of the lateness of the decision, the IWF said it was noot clear whether all the spots would be filled.dddddddddddd.World Rowing, meanwhile, has barred 19 Russians, most for insuffient tests. Testing in Russia does not count under IOC rules because of the repeated allegations made against Russias drug testing agency and national lab, both of which have been suspended.An appeal is being prepared against World Rowings decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian Rowing Federation head Veniamin But told The Associated Press. That could potentially send the 19 to Rio days before the games start, if the case is heard and approved in time.Theyre now in Portugal, But said. Theyre training and theyre ready to go.World Rowings approval process left just six rowers eligible to compete for Rio, meaning Russia could only compete in one event, the mens four, and meant reserve crews from around the world have rushed to Brazil to compete.There was good news for Russia on Friday when the Russian Taekwondo Union said it had received notification from the World Taekwondo Federation that all three of its entries could compete in Rio.However, Russias best-known track and field athlete, two-time Olympic gold medalist Yelena Isinbayeva, said she had been refused in her last attempt to make the team for Rio following the blanket ban on Russia in that sport.Isinbayeva had applied again for an individual exemption but was refused by the IAAF, tracks world governing body.Unfortunately they didnt make an exception for me, she wrote on Instagram. They didnt admit me for the Olympics in Rio. The miracle didnt happen.---Associated Press Writer Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary contributed to this report. ' ' '