Five years after her one and only Slam final, Karolina Pliskova will have a second go at stopping a clock that has ticked for far too long. With only 17 unforced errors, 13 aces, 31 winners and the concession of a single break point, Pliskova played high-tariff tennis with almost no slips from the beam. Anything can happen.’It can, as proven to some degree by the first set going in Sabalenka’s favour – it was baffling both for how many chances Pliskova had and how few she conceded. After Sabalenka slipped to 0-40, Pliskova drilled her next return of serve flat and deep up the middle from which she could only reply low into the net. Sabalenka was broken in the very first game of the third and for all she threw into the chase, Pliskova had too many big returns.

Source: Daily Mail July 08, 2021 16:32 UTC