Czech Karolina Pliskova had a highly successful 2014, climbing from No.71 to No.24 in the rankings in 2014, on account of two WTA titles (Seoul and Linz) and three finals (Pattaya City, Nürnberg, Hong Kong) and she’s continuing the form in 2015, reaching her first WTA Premier-level semifinals and earning an opportunity to even crack the Top 20 depending on the results of other players.
The 22nd-ranked Pliskova first found herself 6-4 3-2 down in her Premier-level quarterfinal debut against Carla Suarez Navarro, but then won 10 of the next 11 games to seal a 4-6 6-4 6-0 victory. Fifteen aces sure helped Pliskova in this match, actually she even scored a “golden game”, hitting four straight aces to serve out the match! Did you know that Pliskova is behind only Serena Williams in the number of aces recorded in 2014 — Williams hit 452, Pliskova 432.
Pliskova’s semifinal opponent will be fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber, whose “Tuesday’s” second-round match against Daria Gavrilova finished after 3 a.m., having started after midnight. After being bageled in the opening set of her quarterfinal, Kerber bounced back to beat Garbine Muguruza 0-6 6-1 6-4.
The other semifinal will feature qualifier AND defending champion Tsvetana Pironkova, who beat Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4 6-1, and second seed Petra Kvitova, who advanced with a tough 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Jarmila Gajdosova.
As for the International-level Hobart International, it was completely washed out on Wednesday and there was no play at all, so our photographer Jimmie48 had an uncalled for day off consisting of waiting in vain. As a consequence, Thursday’s schedule is packed and some players will have to play two singles matches in one day. Follow Jimmie48 on Twitter for live updates. (source: WTA)
Karolina is a WTA rising star for the last 2 years. She will definitely crack the top 20. It really amazes me that Tsvetana plays really well in Sydney. Given the fact that she did not request a wildcard and undergo the qualifying stage again eventhough she is the defending champion really gives us a glimpse that she can do damage on this tournament. Defending her title in Sydney would be nice. I have followed Tsvetana since her annus mirabilis in Wimbledon.
Emman Damian, Pironkova was denied a wildcard! http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/01/pironkova-disappointed-over-wildcard-denial-sydney/53615/#.VLcEldLF_7F
The tournament has a really weird organization, and I’m speaking from personal experience.
Emman Damian, the tournament organizers are quite unfriendly and have some strange policies, now that I see how badly they treated Pironkova and Azarenka, I can handle my bad experience with them more easily.
OMG! They didn’t just do that! (Well they did!). I learned Vika was also denied a wildcard. Of course, they will prioritize the locals or their own players considering that it will be beneficial for their rankings. I think it was a bit odd not giving Tsvetana a wildcard. Eventhough she lost in the SF today, she did win a couple of matches. I have high hopes for her this season. I hope she’ll again bounce back in the Top 35.