Top seed Karolina Pliskova overcame some early patchy play to move into the second round of the US Open on Monday.
Pliskova, who is the top ranked player in a Grand Slam for only the second time in her career, rallied to a 6-4, 6-0, win over world No.145 Anhelina Kalinina. A player who only managed to enter the tournament following a late withdrawal. Despite some at times tentative hitting on the Arthur Ashe Stadium the Czech prevailed with the help of 26 winners as she won 83% of her first service points. The win is Pliskova’s first since the WTA Tour restarted after she lost her opening match at the Western and Southern Open last week.
“The beginning was a little bit tough and I lost my serve in the first game but I think I played much better during the match,” Pliskova said during her on-court interview.
“My game was quite good for a first round to be honest. I like this court (Arhur Ashe) because it’s a little bit slower than the other courts. I have more time to go for my game and I also have a lot of good memories here.”
The roller-coaster start saw Pliskova get pushed harder than expected. After dropping her serve in the first game of the match, she went on to win four in a row and seemingly looked in control. However, a pattern of sluggish hitting enabled Kalinina to claw her way back and level at 4-4. The underdog continued to trouble the world No.3 in the following game as she worked to two break points for a chance to serve the set out. Despite the blip, Pliskova rallied back to nudge ahead before sealing the opener with a love service game.
Averting the early danger, the 28-year-old cruised through the second set by winning 24 out of the 31 points played. Making it the second time Pliskpova has bagelled a player on the Tour this season after Bernarda Pera at the Qatar Open in February.
“It’s always tough if you haven’t had many matches before, especially after these five months,” the top seed explained.
“I was not feeling that bad about the tournament (Western and Southern Open). Of course, my game was not the best there but I’ve since had a week of good practice and I felt much better today.”
Playing inside the premier stadium at Flushing Meadows there was one thing missing – the fans. The Arthur Ashe Arena has a capacity of more than 23,000 but fans are not allowed to attend this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The first match I was like should I cheer myself on or should I be calm. I felt really strange, so the experience of already playing matches without fans helped me (today),” the Czech commented on the situation.
The latest victory is Pliskova’s 20th at the US Open and she has not lost before the second week of the tournament since 2015. It is at the tournament where she played her first and so far only major final back in 2016.
Pliskova will play France’s Carolina Garcia in the second round who defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2.
