Karolina Pliskova is one of the favourites for the title at Wimbledon, and she is confident about her chances of doing well at the All England Club this year.
“I have played a couple matches (in Eastbourne) now which is good, so it doesn’t matter what’s happens this week now,” the Czech said. “I’m ready to start Wimbledon in good shape.”
Despite her positivity, Pliskova knows from experience that grass is a surface that can throw up surprises. She explained, “On grass things don’t always go your way. You need a little bit of luck, because there can be some tricky shots and tricky opponents.”
The Czech continued, “I always felt that, on grass and clay, there are some players who are just better than others, but on hard court you really need to play well to beat everybody.”
“There are some players who only have good results on grass. And, of course, the best players always play well on all the surfaces, but I think some players are tougher than others on grass. If a player knows how to use slices or serve and volley, they can be dangerous.”
Pliskova has had an excellent year so far. She has won two titles (one on hard, one on clay) and she reached the semi-final of the Australian Open.
Furthermore, despite an unexpected loss to her sister Kristyna, the Czech looks totally at home on grass. She beat Mihaela Buzarnescu comfortably in Birmingham, and then played even better to beat Margarita Gasparyan and Elise Mertens with consummate ease in Eastbourne.
Pliskova has also been spared a meeting with the sporadically brilliant Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-final after the Latvian was forced to retire with a left hip injury.
Nevertheless, the Czech is wary of her last eight opponent Ekaterina Alexandrova, who has beaten Ajla Tomljanovic and Belinda Bencic to reach this stage.
“We played just once, but we had some practices in the past,” Pliskova said. “So I know she can be dangerous. She hits flat shots fast.”
Pliskova delighted with Coach Martinez
The Czech seems happier and more confident than at any other time in her career. She believes this is due to her current coaching arrangement.
“Everyone is on the same page about the way we want to play,” Pliskova said. “The game plan is still the same, but I feel like with Conchita everything is working, so everything we do is just getting better.”
The 2016 US Open finalist continued, “I had had enough of Czech people and Czech coaches because there were a lot of changes, a lot of things still happening.”
“We are a small country – it’s like a village – so everybody is talking about everybody. And I thought it was the right time to leave. Not the country, but the Czech coaches.”
Pliskova concluded, “I think it was the best decision I have ever made. Maybe I could have done it even earlier, because in the Czech Republic we just have our own way. It is a bit different than the rest.”
“So I’m happy. It doesn’t matter who’s in my box. Right now it’s Conchita and of course it’s great. But if I choose (a new coach), I definitely won’t go back to anybody from the Czech Republic.”
