Wozniacki makes an epic turnaround against Pliskova to reach Miami final

Caroline Wozniacki made her third high-profile WTA final this season by beating Karolina Pliskova 5-7 6-1 6-1 in the semis of the 2017 Miami Open.

The second-seeded Pliskova opened the match by breaking Wozniacki’s serve and solidified her position with a love hold for a 4-2 lead. The 12th-seeded Wozniacki then surged ahead by winning three consecutive games and even had three set points at 5-4, but Pliskova saved them all with her first serve coming through and leveled to 5-all. The ultimate momentum swing of the set was Pliskova’s, as the Czech won the eleventh and twelfth game to grab the lead.

Wozniacki started the second set with a confident 40-0 score, but then hit three successive double faults to get into an unfavorable position. Despite the errors, the Dane managed to hold serve and continued to march through the set, as Pliskova’s first serve percentage was depressingly low, just 29%. Pliskova’s game became slower and she missed more shots, creating a perfect environment of the Dane’s game to thrive. The situation was similar in the third set, as Wozniacki again lost just one game and broke Pliskova twice.

In the match lasting two hours and 16 minutes, Wozniacki hit three winners more than unforced errors, 26/23, while Pliskova’s differential was negative, 37 winners to 46 errors.

Now we’re awaiting the second women’s semifinal, eleventh seed Venus Williams vs. tenth seed Johanna Konta. (photo: Jimmie48)