Czech tennis player Karolína Plíšková in action at Wimbledon.
Paul Childs, Reuters
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Tournament eight Plíšková is in the semifinals for the first time in the All England Club, Sabalenková was among the top four in singles for the first time in the grand slam ever.
Both players have a different season. Plíšková did not have the same results as before. Sabalenková has already won two titles, played one final and with 34 wins is the best this year. Thanks to that, she jumped to the fourth place in the ranking, which is her new maximum.
Muchová believes that she can play well in all grand slams
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“It gives huge blows from the service even during replacements. There will be no time to think much about tactics. I have to make quick decisions,” Plíšková realizes. “I also have weapons that can harm her. Like serving. I need to play fast and get her under pressure. Let’s see what happens.”
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Tennis player Karolína Plíšková returns in the match of the 3rd round of Wimbledon.
Alberto Pezzali, ČTK / AP
“She is a great player, she moves well now and hits the ball solidly. She serves well,” Sabalenková said of the Czech tennis player’s game. “It’s going to be a tough match, I’m already looking forward to it and I’m just concentrating on my performance, on every ball. This is an opportunity I want to take advantage of and want to win,” she added.
Plíšková shot 40 aces in the tournament, Sabalenková shot seven less. The Czech Republic lost its service only three times in five matches, but Belarus has the second hardest serve from women at Wimbledon at a speed of 196.3 km / h. Plíšková measured the highest feed rate of 186.6 km / h.
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Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenkova in action. Czech tennis player Karolína Plíšková will get her on her knees at Wimbledon.
Kirsty Wigglesworth, ČTK / AP
Plíšková fought Belarus twice and lost both matches in 2018 on the grass in Eastbourne and on the hard surface in Cincinnati after a fight in three sets. “The basis will be to keep the service and wait for a mistake in its service. By playing at risk, he will make a few mistakes,” believes Plíšková.
Sabalenková is one of the players who accompanies each stroke with a loud shout. In the quarterfinals under a cloudy roof, their volume was further amplified. “I don’t mind when someone screams. I don’t mind when I watch tennis, but the way I play it doesn’t bother me. And I don’t even notice it, because I’m concentrating on the balloon and what to do,” Plíšková said.
Twenty-three-year-old Sabalenkova is the third Belarusian in the semifinals of Wimbledon after Natasha Zvereva (1998) and Victoria Azarenka (2011 and 2012). At the same time, it was expected to break through in the grand slams earlier, but it has not yet passed the fourth round. “And then I was worried about it. I couldn’t handle my own expectations and thought I might never be able to. But I worked a lot on my psyche,” she said.
By advancing to the semifinals, Plíšková is confident that she will return to the top ten in the new edition of the singles ranking. If Sabalenko loses, she moves to eighth place, participation in the finals secures her seventh place and a possible grand slam title in fourth position.
| Thursday Wimbledon tennis program: |
| Semifinal singles |
| 14:30 Barty (1-Austr.) – Kerberova (25-Nem.) |
| Karolina Pliskova (8-CZ) – Sabalenková (2-Běl.) |
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