Couple of thoughts:
- Serena was sluggish all match. Quick turnaround after a tough battle against Simona hardly 20 hours before the match definitely hurt her. Plenty of times she was just not in position on her forehand and missed it by miles. But she dug deep and would've toughed it out had her opponent not served from a tree. Pliskova had never made a Slam R3, and now she's in the final, and joins the list of players to beat both Williams sisters in one event.
- that tie-break was so tense and dramatic. In between all the double faults and Pliskova completely gifting the ball to Serena at 3-3, there was a miraculous defense of a crushed second serve return at 5-5. I'm still trying to work out how Pliskova, not known at all for her defense, did that.
- The pressure on Kerber, new world #1, and Wozniacki just went through the roof - they know that if they win, they're favourites to win the title. Could Wozniacki come through to win a Slam after a dreadful season when she couldn't do it as #1 herself?
- Serena and Steffi will be tied in the record books as joint holders of the longest consecutive #1 streak, at 186 each. And they're still tied in Slams won, for now.