KUALA LUMPUR: Karolina Pliskova qualified for her first ever WTA final by crushing fourth seed Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-0, 6-2 in just 47 minutes yesterday.
The world No. 127, who has not dropped a set in the tournament, said she was surprised by the ease of the victory and by how well she has been playing in the BMW Malaysian Open.
“I expected a tough match but and I’m surprised it wasn’t,” said Pliskova. “I’ve been better in other tournaments but the results were not as good as this. I’m excited to play in my first final and can’t wait to see who I’ll be playing. I’m quite surprised I have yet to drop a set but I did tell myself I must finish the matches off quickly as the weather is really tough,” the Czech Republic player added.
Asked if she would prefer to meet third seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Pliskova replied: “They both will be tough. I’ve played Bethanie once before and lost but have never met Anastasia.
“I would prefer to meet Anastasia as it will be different challenge.” — AFP