Wozniacki moves into Miami Open final in handling of Pliskova

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Karolina Pliskova’s serve could not withstand the consistency to win at the Miami Open. The offense of Caroline Wozniacki brought the Czech star down to a level that gave her the break to advance to the finals winning 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 on center court at Crandon Park Tennis Center Thursday.

The world number 14 went for revenge against Pliskova since her straight sets loss at the Qatar Open back in February. The world number three dispatched Wozniacki allowing her seven combined wins that produced her first win against the Dane in their four game series. Playing in the semifinals of another high profile WTA tournament has the two taking the match very seriously with Wozniacki having been in two finals already this season. Getting into the third would definitely take a lot of fight to counteract the moves of the Czech who vied for her own chance at a third WTA title of the year.

She came out guns blazing winning the first two games with seven combined winners that broke Wozniacki. The third was an important hold for the 26 year old despite having to play on deuce. She pushed her Czech opponent into the same but couldn’t get the break to level up.

Pliskova kept the lead through seven with the Dane making every effort to keep her within reach.

Wozniacki captured her first break of the set getting herself even at a critical point to turn the tables with the set nearing its possible end. The ninth was a long fight for control which in the end Wozniacki captured. Her leverage carried into the tenth where gaining a set up on Pliskova would be essential to her work going forward. The world number three never allowed her to do that pulling off a fight to snatch the advantage away and save the set. The Czech’s counteraction forced play to go forward where it was still anyone’s to lead.

Mistakes from Wozniacki’s serve opened the door wide for Pliskova to get her chance at serving for the set. Knowing that she couldn’t follow the pattern of her Danish rival, the third seed stayed tight and took the set after one hour and two minutes. The performance of the two on serve was near even but the difference maker came on the second serve of Wozniacki who struggled on the second serve and first returns.

The Dane knew that she had to make good on opening the second set or give too much comfort to Pliskova to run through it. The two got into a nine minute game where a break for Czech looked eminent but the hold for Wozniacki was critical. After a few breaks, the 14^th seed got her serve secured to begin the set on a positive note. A break for her allowed her an early two game gap on Pliskova with the hope that more could be produced.

She went three straight which infuriated Pliskova to the point of slamming down her racket and needing a talking with her coach to calm. When the break was over, the number three seed got a service hold to get on the board but the gap was going to be an undertaking. She watched as Wozniacki went up 4-1 needing every opportunity to attack her opponent. The Dane was on a roll getting up to 5-1 in hopes to send the set to its distance.

Pliskova had other ideas pulling for the break that would extend her life in the second set. Unable to capitalize on the chance, the game went to deuce only to last a single break where a solid recovery gave her the victory landing an ace to conclude another 38 minutes of play. The problems were Pliskova’s dismal serve percentage that had her unable to counteract the moves by Wozniacki.

It became clear in the final set who began to dictate things early until something came together for the number three seed. The win for Pliskova was short lived as she couldn’t get herself into a pace with Wozniacki who found the journey to a match win easy to get to. She had a 4-1 rout going into the sixth where being on either side was manageable for her. She coasted through the final two games looking to be in complete control of her march to victory. The final win came in the seventh where she dominated Pliskova into submission to walk away with a spot in the finals after 2 hours and 16 minutes.

With a third finals appearance in play, Wozniacki will await patiently as she’ll go against the winner between Venus Williams and Johanna Konta who is seeking her second career WTA title.

Konta upsets Halep in Miami Open Quarterfinal

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Simona Halep opened the door for a big upset at the Miami Open Wednesday afternoon. Tenth seeded Johanna Konta worked through a tough opening set followed by a thriller in the second to win 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-2 at Crandon Park Tennis Center. The upset gave the Brit her first semifinal in the tournament in a finish with momentum going her way.

The series was tied between the two making it the first meeting in two years where the Brit leveled the playing field. Konta’s victory in Wuhan was her first official win against Halep giving her an edge despite losing a Fed Cup match to the Romanian. Both made a push in the tournament since their third round loss at Indian Wells. While they have the need for improvements to their game, the match that pitted the two together allows them to bring their best in the second half run to the title.

Halep gained the opening break in the fourth that gave her a solid 3-1 lead on Konta. She faced some adversity in the fifth with Konta wanting to get back into a pace. The Romanian brought together some defense on deuce in the fifth to win the hold and go up three games. The Brit earned another hold of serve in the sixth but the gap between her and Halep was still a battle to overcome. The number three seed got out of trouble in the seventh turning the advantage to her name before winning it on a deep serve that finished on a forehand error.

A last chance to extend the set came to the hands of Konta who attempted to keep her fight alive. A double fault hurt the tenth seed but her save on the break and set point forced deuce. Her strength on the backhanded rewarded her with another hold and victory against Halep but the possession would surely work against her in the ninth. The Romanian made her intentions clear, blasting away at Konta for three set points which she captured on a winner completing 40 minutes of play. Despite having a low first serve percentage, Halep’s win of points on both sides of the game was too much for her opponent to handle.

Konta knew that something had to get going in the second set with an increasing of battling in the rallies. After pulling off a tough opening serve, she drew together a successful triple break to gain her first lead in the match. She made it a stunning 3-0 run that left some thinking if it would turn into a lopsided match. Halep woke up from her spell fighting for a victory on deuce to get into action. The thought seemed to run through the Brit’s mind as she committed a double fault in the fifth hoping to let that be the last slip up. It wasn’t as it opened the door for the Romanian to take over and pull off another game.

She leveled the playing field in the sixth carrying so much confidence that it was stacking the pressure on Konta to counteract the problems that occurred from blowing three games. The notion gave her energy to play well on serve and be back in the lead. She did exactly that in the seventh sending Halep to call for coach Darren Cahill to come out for a talk. She received a positive chat with him telling her to play one point at a time.

Game Eight was certainly that as Konta brought in the drop shots that were a challenge for Halep to return on. She got to deuce but had trouble picking up the advantage. The chances were there but being accurate seemed difficult with Konta on the attack. A great chance came to get it done firing one down the line away from the Brit to level at four all.

The Romanian got the chance to serve for the match awarding herself another break that came on the struggles of Konta’s double faults. A tense start gave Halep a double fault on serve but saved it to get on the board with a forehand return error. She delivered a slice that across court but saw Konta level back on the next point with a drop shot redirect. Halep saved a chance to serve on deuce but Konta was showing tremendous adversity. Both gave the other a window to dictate the remainder of the game but a mistake from the number three seed forced extra games making it the second tiebreaker for the two.

Konta was the first to set the bar but she didn’t expect Halep to have a full love service to send things to the deciding factor. The tenth seed was first to fire off a shot that she double faulted giving her opponent the lead. She answered back with a winner down the line that erased the mistake from her head. She and Halep both awarded points on double faults that saw them at three all.

Things got very interesting with Konta finding a chance to win the set with a lead. Halep shut it down on the 12^th point making it a two point game for one of them to win. The Brit pulled Halep off the court to use her composure and win on the backhand. A long ball opened the door for the world number five making it a tense moment on court. Konta gained the lead again knowing that it was going to take a lot for her to get set point. With the rally in play, the Brit redirected the ball numerous times till a moment came where the Romanian couldn’t keep up with it any longer. It sent things to the distance making it more work for a conclusion to arrive.

The third began as a fight where pulling out all the stops was going to spell out how the set went along. The two stayed tight through four games but a big force in Konta’s game allowed her to gain a step on the Romanian. It continued to go that way for the Brit who was on a span of victories that set her up easily for chance at pulling off an upset. She reached 5-2 with the ball in hand for the match edging Halep for the point. It was brought to a close with another long ball error from the world number five that went 2 hours and 30 minutes.

“I couldn’t afford to think too far ahead or too far behind or what could be,” Konta said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “I had things together in the second set being up 3-0 and a chance for a fourth but she’s an incredible player and has been at the top of her game for some time.”

She’ll await the winner of the final quarterfinal match that pits world number one Angelique Kerber and American Venus Williams on Friday.

Wozniacki plays on her strengths to beat Safarova at Miami Open

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Caroline Wozniacki continues to be at the top of her game at the Miami Open Tuesday night. The number 12 seed gained a ton of confidence that allowed her to win 6-4, 6-3 against Lucie Safarova on Stadium court at Crandon Park Tennis Center  

A long awaited eighth meeting came for the two superstars of the sport with the current world number 14 holding the lead. She last met Safarova two years ago at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix taking care of her in straight sets. More is on the line this time as Wozniacki has plenty of final appearances under her belt. She got a pass after a hard opening set against Garbine Muguruza which ended suddenly. The 26 year old didn’t expect to get through anything easy against the Czech who has won her last four in straight sets waiting for the difficulty to increase.

She dug in the opening game attempting to get the break on Wozniacki from the start. The Dane saw Safarova force deuce that went four breaks before a tug of war for possession ended with the Czech out front. The forehand returns warmed her up enough to prepare for service where she resulted in seeing deuce herself. She prevented playing another lengthy battle with the Dane completing the hold of serve and an important 2-0 lead.

The pace remained in the third as Wozniacki tried everything to get something to go her way. Safarova had the same answer for her extending the gameplay that reached eight and a half minutes. After five breaks and a long ball error from Safarova, Wozniacki got her way onto the score board.  

Aware of how the set was going, Wozniacki adapted her play on deuce to force her opponent into an uncomfortable position. Another unforced error allowed the former number one to level at two all. Although the fights on deuce came to an end, control never seemed to be with one player going forward. The battles continued to keep the players in a tie despite the effort that both Safarova and Wozniacki had to endure.

The difference maker came in the ninth where the former number one found a way to counter the draws with Safarova and remain the stronger offensive player. She earned the win on serve and followed up with a gigantic break that gave her the set win after a lengthy one hour and three minutes.

Wozniacki opened the service in the second showing some strength of control from the start. She had the edge going against the Czech star but always found herself even. Safarova cleaned out the fourth with a love service answering Wozniacki with force. The two returned to pace of the first with things dead even through six with the fights on deuce coming back into action. In the seventh, the former number one held with scoreboard pressure on Safarova to respond in turn.

It took a lot of effort on the part of the world number 14 to capture the advantage on deuce and hold it for the major break that put her on serve for the match. The strength on defense was coming apart for the Czech who quickly saw her tournament coming to a close. She earned two fortunate points that leveled her at 30 all with Wozniacki but the advantage remained in favor of the Dane. A long forehand brought up match point that finished the 2 hour plus match with another unforced error to end it.

“That was a great for me today,” Wozniacki said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “Lucie’s such a strong competitor. She had it tough last year with Illness and then injuries but she’s one of those players you don’t want to play in the early rounds because she’s so good. It was a tough match today and pleased to be through.”

She’ll see another Czech stand in her way going into the semifinals meeting against Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.