Wimbledon.com's highlights from the sixth day of the WTA Aegon Classic at Edgbaston Priory Club...
Pliskova makes fourth final of the year in style
Karolina Pliskova has always been known for her poker face among tennis fans. Ever since her junior days, the 23-year-old Czech's on-court demeanour has been stoic and expressionless. At times, this has been taken as failing to care about the outcome of her matches - but her rise this year has illustrated the flipside of that.
Having dominated a rain-interrupted first set over France's Kristina Mladenovic thanks to her textbook-smooth groundstrokes, Pliskova found herself staring down the barrel of three set points in the second set tie-break. But barely two minutes later, she was raising her fists in victorious triumph, having reeled off five straight points for the match - four with brilliant winners.
It was a superb display of clutch tennis from the Czech No.6 seed, who will have the opportunity to enter the top 10 for the first time should she win tomorrow's final - her fourth of the year, following runner-up spots in Sydney (a 6-7(5), 6-7(6) loss to Petra Kvitova) and Doha (where she fell 4-6, 6-7(4) to Simona Halep) and a title run at home in Prague. Having collected three International-level titles in her career to date - all within the past year - it will also be an opportunity for Pliskova to gain her first Premier-level trophy. Nor will she be fazed by further meteorological vagaries. "I already had this in the first match when my match was suspended to the next day, so I'm a little bit used to it," she laughed afterwards.
For her part, Mladenovic started slowly twice, going down a break immediately and then falling further behind after the first rain delay - and though she fought valiantly in the second set, was always a touch less reliable than Pliskova. Nonetheless, she has established herself as one of the most dangerous looming floaters in the Wimbledon draw.
Kerber aiming for a first grass title
Pliskova will face Germany's Angelique Kerber for the title, after the No.4 seed extended her dominance over compatriot and No.8 seed Sabine Lisicki in the day's second semi-final.
After the match, Kerber had shrugged off the problem of yet another rain delay, having engrossed herself in a book while she waited for the British climate to deign to nod towards the notion of summer. It was an appropriate activity, for she read Lisicki's game as though it was a book.
It's a frequent misconception that in tennis the more powerful player and the one striking more winners is the one in control. But though Lisicki struck 26 winners to Kerber's 10, she never looked like she had the match in her hands. Time and again, Lisicki would up the pace in a rally first - only to find herself scrambling as Kerber anticipated and redirected it skilfully to the other side of the court. Moreover, Kerber's ability to read the Lisicki serve neutralised the lower-ranked player's biggest weapon: she was able to add only two aces to her tournament total of 45 coming into the semi-final.
Kerber's inside-out knowledge of her opponent's game may have been enhanced by their long history. The Fed Cup teammates, born a year apart, have known each other since their junior days - and have been playing each other as professionals since 2007, when Kerber won the final of a $50K ITF event in Saguenay, Canada, 6-3, 6-4. That has set the tone for the rivalry, which Kerber now leads 6-0 - although she denied that her dominant head-to-head gave her extra confidence. "Every single match starts from zero," she explained. "And it's always a challenge to play a match against a German player, someone you know very well."
In the final, Kerber will be going for her third Premier-level trophy of 2015, following victories in Charleston and Stüttgart - and, following runner-up plates from Eastbourne in 2012 and 2014, her first ever championship on grass. Her head-to-head against Pliskova is all square at 2-2, with Kerber winning 6-2, 6-2 on the indoor hard courts of Copenhagen in 2011 and the outdoor hard courts of Doha last year 7-6(2), 6-4. However, Pliskova has taken their two most recent matches, on the Nuremberg quarter-finals on clay last year 7-6(5), 6-4 and in the Sydney semi-finals in January this year on hard courts, 6-3, 6-2.
Spain against the Czech Republic in the doubles final
There will be Czech representation in the Aegon Classic doubles final, as well. Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka were the most accomplished pair in the field - champions at Roland Garros in 2011 and the US Open in 2013, as well as runner-ups at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2012. However, having only reunited at the tail end of 2014 after a year-long separation, they were unseeded - not that it mattered as they swept aside Michaella Krajicek and Barbora Strycova 6-2, 6-2 in the day's first semi-final.
The Czech team will face No.4 seeds Garbiñe Muguruza and Carla Suárez Navarro for the title: the Spaniards, both seeded in the singles draw, set aside their disappointing losses there to overcome Chan Yung-Jan and Zheng Jie 7-5, 6-3.
How many girls on the tour would warm up with their opponent before the match?!! #truefriendship #segra @KaPliskova pic.twitter.com/2bSAxXaoXc
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) June 20, 2015
