Displaying her candidacy as a future world No.1 player by winning the Qatar Open, Karolina Pliskova has no time to celebrate her latest triumph.
The 24-year-old Czech raced to the Doha title by dropping just one set in the tournament as she produced back-to-back wins over Dominika Cibulkova and Caroline Wozniacki. Pliskova now enters this week’s Dubai Tennis Championships with a 11-1 win-loss record this season. Her sole defeat occurred at the Australian Open to tour veteran Mirjana Lucic Baroni.
“I wasn’t sure about my tennis (at the beginning of the week in Doha) because I didn’t practice much and we played Fed Cup indoors and this was outside, so everything was a bit different,” she told sport360 on Sunday.
“The conditions there were really tough the whole week so I didn’t practice much before the matches. I’m just happy. I played four matches in three days so it was a special week definitely and I think in the end I was even playing good tennis in the finals.”
Currently ranked third in the world, the US Open runner-up is the first and so far only top-five player to win ten or more matches in 2017. At the start of the year Pliskova also won the Brisbane International, defeating Alize Cornet in straight sets.
The Czech is now bidding to win her third title of the season, an accomplishment that she yet to achieve in her career. At the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, Pliskova will be the second seed behind Angelique Kerber. The tournament features five top-10 players, but the packed field has done little to curb the confidence of the world No.3
“There are only one or two players left which I haven’t beaten yet.” She said.
“I think anything is possible and with my game I have big opportunities to beat those players, I just have to play well, stay aggressive, serve well and then I have the chance to beat anyone.”
Pliskova has been granted a first round bye in Dubai, which is a Premier 5 tournament. Her first match is set to be against either Kristina Mladenovic or Kateřina Siniaková.
How Karolina Pliskova compares to her rivals during the first 50 days of 2017
| Current ranking |
Name |
Titles |
Win-Loss record |
|
1 |
Serena Williams |
1 |
8-1 |
|
2 |
Angelique Kerber |
0 |
4-3 |
|
3 |
Karolina Pliskova |
2 |
11-1 |
|
4 |
Simona Halep |
0 |
2-2 |
|
5 |
Agnieszka Radwańska |
0 |
6-3 |
