Kerber praises Pliskova after defeating her in straight sets
dubai — For Karolina Pliskova, it was always going to be an uphill battle against Angelique Kerber — a player that had beaten her four times in their previous five clashes going into Thursday’s quarterfinal at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
And, the script remained same on a sunny Thursday afternoon on the Centre Court with the German bringing all her deft touches and variations to negate the threat of the hard-hitting player from the Czech Republic, winning the quarterfinal clash with a 6-4 6-3 score in 74 minutes.
Both of them have been world number ones, but Kerber has added two Grand Slams to her trophy cabinet. And the 30-year-old German counter-puncher looks good enough to win a few more as she has bounced back from the disappointments of 2017.
But Pliskova, on the other hand, is still struggling to cement her status as a serious contender at the Grand Slams. The Czech player has even failed to go past the quarterfinal stage in any of the majors since enjoying a brief stint at the top of the WTA rankings last year.
The 25-year-old Pliskova has now found backer in Kerber, though. “I mean, she’s still young. She’s playing great,” the German said after her victory over the 2016 US Open runner-up on Thursday.
“She won already so many big tournaments, as well. I think it’s only a matter of time. She will be there.” Now for Kerber to be in the final of the Dubai championships, she has to beat a player she had lost to in the semifinals here last year.
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina beat Kerber in straight sets in the lastfour game in 2017, and Kerber expects another tough match on Friday. “Yeah, I mean, it will be a rematch. We played last year also in the semis. Yeah, she played unbelievable last year. Still a lot of confidence, especially here where she won last year,” Kerber said. “Yeah, it will be a tough match. She is bringing a lot of balls back, playing good tennis, moving good. I think it will be a close and tough match tomorrow,” said Kerber who has lost six of her 11 matches against the Ukrainian in the past.
But you can write Kerber off at your own peril as here’s a player who has recovered from last year’s disappointments in remarkable fashion this year.
“After last year I was sitting at home and told myself, ‘Okay, this is not the end. I know I am a fighter. I will come back and I will go through all the tough pre-season, fighting back. This is how I am’.
“Of course, it’s great to being back in the top 10, playing good tennis again. But for me right now, I mean, my goal is to improve my game, enjoy my tennis, just trying to continue how I started the year.” If Kerber continues her dream run on Thursday on the Centre Court, Svitolina’s hopes of becoming the first player since Justine Henin and Venus Williams to defend the Dubai title will suffer a big blow.