“Obviously, the match with Venus helped me. not only with the game, but also with the crowd”, Pliskova said.
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Pliskova dominated the higher-ranked and more-experienced Kerber, not merely winning in straight sets, but dropping only four games along the way.
“Definitely it was about those last two, three weeks that I have played here”.
Like Saturday, there was a title at stake. That’s a final of a Grand Slam, so anything is possible.
” For me it’s incredible to be after Steffi [Graf], the number one player from Germany”, Kerber said.
So while there is still a lot on the line, of course – millions of dollars, a major trophy – Kerber does not have to deal with the pressure of trying to ascend to No. 1.
“No, I think that was once and that was OK”, she said when asked about taking another victory plunge. I was just pushing too much the balls there, so I think I will change this a little bit.
The second-seeded German southpaw faces the 10th-seeded Serena slayer, Karolina Pliskova, in Saturday’s finals – an event that probably won’t move ESPN’s ratings needle with Williams gone.
“To be the next German No. 1 in the world after Steffi, it’s really special, ” Kerber said.
The 28-year-old, however, is expected to cap her new crown with a second grand slam title in NY, to back up her maiden triumph at the Australian Open in January.
If you handicap this match based off what both players have done in the their careers, especially this year, Kerber should win in a landslide. Perhaps that gave her some extra motivation in the Australian Open final this year to prevent Serena Williams from equaling Graf’s Open Era record of 22 majors. “I have been better at everything else, I find school terribly tiresome and boring”, she once told Czech media. “She gets good angles”. Despite her reputation for consistency, Kerber underachieved for the next few years, however, and reached a new low in 2014, when she suffered early losses at the Australian Open, Antwerp, and Doha, a spiral that led her to seriously re-evaluate her life and career.
“You know, it’s not a lot of people who have been No. 1”. It’s a huge thing. At least she has the consolation of knowing her surprise run to a fifth semi-final in the city where she keeps a second home will translate to a place back in the world top 30. Everyone wants to beat the No. 1 player in the world.
Pliskova, meanwhile, is now one victory from her first, and on Thursday night, she certainly looked the part of an up-and-comer with the strokes and demeanor to go far.
The match may be delayed depending on how long the preceding match goes for, but it will not begin before 6am (AEST).
Pliskova said she was focusing on herself and didn’t notice whether Williams was troubled.
“I always knew I have a chance to beat anybody if I’m playing my game”.
The match offers an intriguing contrast in styles.
“Serena, she’s a champion so it’s never easy to play her”.
But the 28-year-old German knew she couldn’t afford to celebrate just yet.
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A natural righty, like Rafa Nadal, Kerber plays tennis with her left hand. “She got rid of my doubts”, Kerber said, attributing much of her subsequent success to that time spent with her mentor. Go for it, being aggressive.
