Karolina Pliskova on Thursday said that she exceeded her own expectations by reaching her maiden Wimbledon final by beating Aryna Sabalenka, but anything could happen when she faces world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty today.
The 29-year-old former top-ranked player battled back from a set down to second seed Sabalanka to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, the first time in 10 years a player has done so in the women’s semi-finals at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
It was a battle of tall big-hitters as the pair racked up 32 aces between them in a tight contest, smashing a Wimbledon record held by Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka from 2012 when they hit a combined 25 aces.
Photo: AFP
In the end, Czech eighth seed Pliskova kept her cool to record her first win over the 23-year-old Belarusian and reach her first Grand Slam final since the 2016 US Open.
“I think I’m still half like I can’t believe it, because somehow coming into this tournament the dream was to make the second week, of course, because I was not in the second week for a while,” Pliskova told a news conference.
“Never I thought about maybe going into the final. [Coach] Sascha [Bajin] was super confident in me. He said: ‘I told you you were going to make the final,’” she said. “I knew it was going to be like super close because we both serve big, so I knew there were going to be many small chances, especially after losing the first set, I thought it was going to be super tough to win this match.”
“Then to win two sets in a row with the way she was serving today, I think she was serving incredible, all my chances she just put amazing serves in,” she added.
Standing in Pliskova’s way of achieving a first Grand Slam title is top seed Barty, who defeated German 25th seed Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).
Barty is aiming to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish for the first time herself and history favors the Australian, who has five wins to Pliskova’s two in their previous meetings.
However, the Czech was calm, yet confident that she could spring a surprise and finally show that her potential has not gone unfulfilled.
“So far my second final, second time I’m playing against a player world No. 1,” Pliskova said with a smile, having lost to then-world No. 1 Kerber in the final at Flushing Meadows in New York in 2016.
“But, no, I think it can’t be any better than that. You want to play the best player in the final. Of course, I don’t want anybody else but her there,” she said. “We’ve had some good matches. Of course, I lost couple of times, but I think she has an extremely difficult game to play [against]. It’s going to be difficult on grass because of her slides and just her game overall.”
“It’s a final. Anything can happen. Also for her, I know she has a Grand Slam, but also for her it is the first Wimbledon final. I think we both have good chances,” she added. “It’s going to be hopefully a good match to watch as well, because with her it’s always interesting.”
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