Czech Karolina Pliskova and Danish Caroline Wozniacki will face each other in the battle for the Aegon International title. These Eastbourne semifinals were specific because semifinalists Johanna Konta and Heather Watson were the first duo of British players to make a WTA final four in 32 years, but both ended their runs at that stage of the tournament.
The third-seeded Pliskova advanced to the final singles match of the last grasscourt tournament before Wimbledon with a walkover, as the fifth-seeded Konta was forced to withdraw from her hometown event with a back injury sustained after a heavy fall in her win against world No.1 Angelique Kerber in the previous round. The Brit says that she’s doing everything she can to be fit for Wimbledon, but she’s also putting her health first and the decision whether she’ll play in London will be based on her recovery progress in the few remaining hours before Wimbledon starts.
Seed No.6 Wozniacki reached the final of the tournament she had won in 2009 by breaking Heather Watson’s serve three times in the first set and then winning the key points in a close decider to record a 6-2 3-6 7-5 victory.
Having not had to compete on Friday, Pliskova will have an advantage over Wozniacki in their first encounter on grass, as the Dane has played eight sets in a day and a half. Moreover, Pliskova defeated Wozniacki in this year’s Doha final, one of Wozniacki’s four WTA finals in 2017. However, Wozniacki leads 4-1 in their head-to-head stats.
Congratulations Karolina Pliskova.
The ability to serve her way out of any trouble will be useful next week.
I like Caro’s kit here. Way better than the red version. What do you think?
Emman Damian, I like both. They’re simply different. I wouldn’t say one is way better than the other.