SISTER ACT
It’s down to the eye-catching Pliskova twins to keep up SW19’s...
It IS just over three weeks since Jelena Ostapenko stunned the tennis world by winning the French Open. And as Wimbledon begins today without Serena Williams, there will be several dozen players among the women’s field who believe they have a shot at the title, among them the remarkable Pliskova twins.
Ranked No 3 and 46 respectively, Karolina and Kristyna were born two minutes apart in the Czech Republic 25 years ago, and have tracked each other to the top of the game.
In the absence of Serena, many experts judge Karolina as having the best serve in the game, and after winning Eastbourne’s Aegon International on Saturday she is joint favourite with the bookmakers’ alongside Petra Kvitova.
Left-handed Kristyna, meanwhile, is a former Wimbledon junior champion whose game is well suited to grass. the sisters are extremely close and proudly sport an identical Polynesian tattoo, which their mother and father also have.
With the field in women’s tennis so open, both players will bracket themselves in the large group thinking they have a chance.
Karolina has made great strides in the last 12 months, reaching the final of last year’s US Open and the semis at Roland Garros last month.
It has been a long journey for these twins, which saw them both win junior Grand Slam titles.
‘Nobody in our family played tennis but our parents just wanted us to do stuff,’ says Karolina.
‘We started going to tennis classes aged four and it went from there. Kristyna was first in the Czech Republic as a junior, I was second. I became a bit better on the main women’s tours.
‘We spend so much time together but it’s not how it was before. We both have boyfriends now (Karolina’s is a TV producer and Kristyna’s is an ice hockey player), so it has changed a little bit.
‘When we are off we like to see our parents. We have a half-sister who is four, so we like to spend time with her. We speak every day even if we don’t see each other.’
Of their family tattoo, she adds: ‘Our parents had it first and we were 15 when we got it. I’ve got two and Kristyna has one. We always wanted one. It’ s Polynesian style but it doesn’t have any meaning.’
Surprisingly, Karolina is yet to get past the second round of Wimbledon, way behind her achievements at other Slams.
‘I haven’t really played good at Wimbledon, although last year I did well in doubles.
‘I’m waiting for my big step there. My sister is a lefty, so maybe that’s better on grass. Hopefully things can change for me this year.’
It is a measure of how unpredictable the tournament is that another of the favourites is the sisters’ compatriot Petra Kvitova, following her hearteningly swift return to form by winning the Aegon Classic in Birmingham.
It would be an incredible story if Kvitova took the title. Wimbledon is only her third tournament back after she damaged her hands when fending off a knifewielding intruder at her apartment in the Czech Republic on December 20.
TWICE a champion before at the All England Club, nobody is capable of timing the ball more sweetly on grass. Consistency, however, has not always been her strongest suit and there must be doubts about whether her form will hold over the two weeks.
the player who has similarly done it all before and truly loves the grass is Venus Williams, although she has just turned 37. that, likewise, would be an extraordinary tale, but it would require her to win seven straight matches at a Slam for the first time since 2008.
the third remarkable scenario would be Jo Konta winning 40 years after Virginia Wade’s Jubilee year triumph.
Konta has the game for grass and likes to take the ball on. Other than the spine injury she picked up in Eastbourne, there would be two concerns about her: whether she can embrace the pressure of being the home favourite — she has not been past the second round before. the other is the lack of a Plan B, when her all- out attacking style is failing to reap rewards.
She is just another for whom a case can be made either way.
What is for sure is that it is a brave person who parts with their money on backing the women’s winner.