The stakes are high for Karolina Pliskova heading into her semifinal clash with Simona Halep this coming Thursday. Not only will Pliskova reach a Grand Slam final for the first time in her career with a victory against Halep, she will also leapfrog Angelique Kerber as the world’s best player. Based on her performances in this tournament thus far, Pliskova definitely looks ready for the challenge.
Pliskova, who is through to her second career Grand Slam semifinal, has dropped just two sets in this year’s French Open. Not bad for a player who isn’t really known for her clay prowess. Pliskova survived a spirited challenge from hometown favorite Caroline Garcia in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, winning in straight sets, 7-6 (3), 6-4. She won 79 percent of her first serve points in a match that lasted one hour and 51 minutes. Pliskova also served eight aces and just one double fault in that contest for a solid plus-7 margin.
For Pliskova to grab the much-needed victory against Halep, she will need to continue her highly-efficient play. She recorded 25 winners and committed just 13 unforced errors in her straight-sets win against Garcia.
There’s just no quit with Simona Halep. Down 6-3, 5-1 in her quarterfinal clash against Elina Svitolina, it seemed all was lost for the third-seeded Romanian. Halep, however, displayed tremendous resiliency, winning 12 of the last 13 games to pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in French Open history. With that 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0 victory, Halep is through to the final four of the French Open for the second time since 2014.
Standing in her way in the semis is the talented Karolina Pliskova. Halep will fancy her chances against the Czech star as she leads their head-to-head matchup, 4-2. They have never played on clay before, however. Halep won their most recent meeting in the third round of last year’s Canadian Masters, 6-3, 6-3. For Halep to extend her dominance against Pliskova, she needs to continue her excellent return play. She won 45 percent of her receiving points in the comeback win against Svitolina.
