A grand slam finalist and world No.3, Karolina Pliskova knows more than anybody that she is expected to perform at the French Open.
Tipped by many as a future world No.1 due to her blistering service speed and court coverage, her memories of Roland Garros has mainly been one of disappointment. Since making her grand slam debut at the tournament in 2012, the 25-year-old had only won two matches in Paris prior to this year.
Pliskova’s Paris jinx came to an end on Thursday. Facing Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, she held her nerve to prevail 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. After four years of trying, the Czech had finally reached the third round of the clay court major. Usually for a second seed it is nothing special, but this is not the case for Pliskova.
“It’s great. Last year I was also a favourite (at Roland Garros).Everyone expected me to win something, and I didn’t make it. I lost in the first (round).” Pliskova said following her second round win.
“So even the first round (win) means a lot to me, what I done even today (Thursday) it’s kind of special still. I have a chance”.
Like previous years, the clay continues to be a nemesis of Pliskova this season. In the build up to the French Open, she has only managed to win four matches out in four tournaments. To put this into perspective, between February – March she won 12 matches on a hard court in the same amount of tournaments.
“I don’t think I am playing the best tennis what I played this year, but somehow I still won two matches which is very important.” She admitted.
“I know I can play better if I go deep in the tournament.”
Still trying to fine tune her game in Paris, Pliskova admits that she needs to increase her aggressiveness on the court as well as improving her backhand. During matches, she counter those issues with the help of a series of notes she takes onto the court in the bag. Whilst she never elaborates on what they say, she admits that they are words from her coach that she refers to when unsure about her game.
Next up in Pliskova’s French Open journey will be Germany’s Carina Witthöft in round three. The Czech is the overwhelming favourite, but she had previously lost to the German in 2015. Only time will tell if Pliskova has finally broken her French Open jinx.
