Friday, July 9, 2021

Barty and Pliskova to contest for Wimbedon title

World number 1 Ash Barty brought her number 1 game, and then some, to her Wimbedon semifinal match against 2018 champion Angie Kerber, who--during this grass season--has once again looked like the most dangerous of contenders for the 2021 title. After losing the first set, the German star was able to raise the level of her game, take a 5-2 lead, then--at 5-4--serve for the set. But Barty broke her, won her next game at love, and never looked back. Her 6-3, 7-6 victory places her in the final of a tournament she says she's always dreamed of winning.

As for Kerber--as disappointing as this loss had to be, she has definitely "returned," and in a big way, which is an exciting occurrence.

If there is a "complete" player, it has to be Barty. Her expert use of the backhand slice, and her ability to use keen strategy have always been there, but now she also has a deadly serve (she had a first serve win percentage of 88 against Kerber). And she feels at home on the grass.

Barty's opponent in the final will be eighth seed Karolina Pliskova, who defeated second seed Aryna Sabalenka 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. Matches played between two "power hitters" are generally not my cup of tea, but in this match, it was interesting to watch Pliskova repeatedly do the one thing that she says has kept her from doing better on grass--getting really low to hit the ball. I remember, about five years ago, the Czech star said that her resolution for the coming year was to "bend my knees more." She's still working on that.

Pliskova, who has had some issues with her famous serve, was on fire against Sabalenka, hitting 14 aces (Sabalenka, I should note, hit 18), and coming away with very notable first and second serve win percentages of 78 and 69.

Barty is 5-2 against Pliskova, and the Australian player has won the last three matches that they played against each other.

Paths to the final:

ASH BARTY (1)
round 1--def. Carla Suarez Navarro
round 2--def. Anna Binkova
round 3--def. Katerina Siniakova
round of 16--def. Barbora Krejcikova
quarterfinals--def. Ajla Tomljanovic
semifinals--def. Angie Kerber (25)

KAROLINA PLISKOVA (8)
round 1--def. Tamara Zidansek
round 2--def. Donna Vekic
round 3--def. Tereza Martincova
round of 16--def. Liudmila Samsonova (WC)
quarterfinals--def. Viktorija Golubic
semifinals--def. Aryna Sabalenka (2)

In doubles, third seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens will play Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina in the final. Hsieh and Mertens defeated fifth seeds Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals. 

In their semifinal match, Kudermetova and Vesnina defeated Caroline Dolehide and Storm Sanders 7-6, 3-6, 7-5. This very high-quality match was a series of thrills that went on for two and a half hours. Down 2-5 in the third set, the Russians eventually saved three match points and went on to break and then win the match. That's the summary, but you had to see it to fully appreciate the incredible nature of this contest, which included an almost-meltdown from Kudermetova.

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