Karolina Pliskova defeated Johanna Konta 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final of the AEGON International at Eastbourne after a dramatic clash on centre court yesterday.
As expected many were rooting for Konta the hometown girl, but Pliskova held her nerve after Konta’s fall and then with the disturbances in the crowd it was all happening midway through the second set.
The strapping Pliskova served impressively throughout, and when she needed to, she also held her serve.
Pliskova will have played 10 games on grass before Wimbledon which would be more than most players, so chances of her going far into the competition in West London is looking good.
Pliskova says she is ‘happy’ with the tennis she is playing as Wimbledon approaches
The 24-year-old played at Birmingham and Nottingham before coming to Eastbourne so her time on grass has been a positive one, but the Czech player will be looking to win the final to put down a marker ahead of Wimbledon.
Speaking about the way she is playing at the moment, Pliskova said: “And so far I’m happy with the tennis the way I’m playing here this week. This was the toughest match this week but happy to be through. Looking forward to the final now.”
Although having so much time on the grass is beneficial before Wimbledon, for Pliskova she doesn’t feel it makes that much of a difference: “Definitely it’s a good sign to have so many winning matches on grass court, but I think it doesn’t really mean anything. In Wimbledon it’s new tournament, new week for everyone.”
Next up for Pliskova is the AEGON International final against Dominika Cibulkova, a player who has also performed well this week. But for Pliskova she will want to end her Eastbourne time with a big victory before she heads to Wimbledon next week.