Karolina Pliskova edges Victoria Azarenka in three sets at US Open

Karolina Pliskova clenches her first during her fourth round match with Victoria Azarenka at the US Open, 

Karolina Pliskova put together a strong finish to come out front at the US Open Monday. The Czech overcame the heavy-hitting Victoria Azarenka, who forced the competition to three sets only to let it slip in a 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2 result on Louis Armstrong Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It marked her first win on the hard courts against the 26th seed, who had three wins against her in that fashion.

The Czech pulled off a thrilling win against Belinda Bencic after committing over a dozen double faults in her third-round match. The comeback against the Swiss set up the former world number one with another titan of the sport, who has met eight times. Their last battle took place in Rome three years ago, which the 22nd seed captured to level their series. When it comes to their hard court history between the two, Azarenka holds the lead. The 33-year-old handled Petra Martic in straight sets, as the Croatian couldn’t match the level of intensity. With the two titans of the sport fighting for a quarterfinal, the intensity of the players would be high off the first ball.

Pliskova opened the scoring, giving herself a 40-15 lead until Azarenka struck back defending the pace. She forced deuce with the Czech going four breaks, but the breakpoint attempt failed and the hold to Pliskova. She went on to take and hold the lead on Azarenka’s service, gaining an important stand early in the set. The 22nd seed successfully consolidated in the third, keeping the points short on serve.

On her second attempt, the 26th seed used the same strategy as her opponent, denying Pliskova a chance to gain a break on deuce in the fourth. Azarenka got out front twice in the fifth, achieving the break that put her down a game. The 33-year-old got it all tied up, playing well at the baseline, which tricked up the Czech. After losing all the ground from earlier, Pliskova played the baseline strategy of her opponent, finding the open parts of the court. After a battle on deuce for the AD point, the Czech produced game points, clinching the seventh to get back into the lead.

Azarenka served comfortably in the eighth, remaining level with Pliskova, who served in the business end of the set. A key break gave the 26th seeded star a leg up on the Czech, who faced going down a set with Azarenka on serve. The Czech came to the net on the first point, smashing a shot, that the 33-year-old didn’t believe was in. It was 0-30 for Pliskova until a long ball got Azarenka into the action.

A net front point leveled the score, but a mistake on the toss handed the 6-foot-1 star a break. The 26th seed saved it on a well-placed winner, with the control of the rally in her hand. Getting the set point in her grip was difficult due to her returns landing long and opened the door for Pliskova. After a pair of blown chances, the Czech countered for the win, taking them deeper in the set.

With the leverage open for anyone to attain, Pliskova was the first to do so, playing defense at deuce with Azarenka until her moment to hold serve arrived. Putting her opponent under pressure didn’t work out as the 26th seed laid out two net points at the perfect time. The Czech worked in the backhand to bring her a set point and get Azarenka out of the way for the set win in one hour and seven minutes.

Both were almost even on winners to unforced errors, with each of them using their tricks on one another. The second set opened with a fight for control by Pliskova against the 26th seed. The two went through six breaks of deuce in a near 10-minute battle which the Czech won on serve. Azarenka trailed on serve in the second, saving breakpoints to force deuce.

She kept the competition short with Pliskova, taking the service hold on the second break. The 33-year-old chained together a break in the third, earning the lead. She stayed ahead of her opponent through the following three games as a result. The Czech worked hard in the eighth, working hard to generate a breakpoint late and level the score. Her shot to take the lead on serve in the ninth came with momentum, finding the baseline before putting it away on a center-court smash.

Needing to hold, Azarenka felt no pressure or hesitations in the tenth game, serving Pliskova to love. The 22nd seed put her best foot forward on serve in the 11th, pressing out the points and preventing Azarenka from jumping into the game. To stay alive in the match, Azarenka went deep with the second serve and kept Pliskova at the baseline. She worked the pace she set, scoring the important service hold that sent the second set to the distance.

A double fault from the 22nd seed set up a point streak for Azarenka, as well as some momentum from her serves. Pliskova got on the board, and a rare double fault from the 33-year-old cut the margin in half. Back-to-back errors gave Azarenka set points, scoring on her final attempt with a winner that Pliskova didn’t chase. It was a one-hour and nine-minute mission for Azarenka to force a decider, as both players let very little change in their output to each other.

Pliskova went for a big statement in the third, producing breakpoints to take the break. The 33-year-old watched the same result happen in the second, failing to get into Pliskova’s service. The third was her moment to get dug in against her opponent, scoring a pair of winners that helped her get on the board. The path was no longer easy for the Czech, who managed to hold the fourth, but let a lead slip away in the fifth.

Azarenka saved two breakpoints to force deuce, leading the players to struggle to connect points. After six breaks passed, the 33-year-old successfully held serve, staying in touch while denying a huge double break for Pliskova. She managed to recover in the sixth on a tremendous performance on serve, while Azarenka produced errors. The 26th seed went sour on serve in the seventh, with the second serve letting her down.

It opened the door for Pliskova to serve for the match in the eighth, notching an eighth ace from her near-perfect first serve. A return error from Azarenka brought up two match points for the Czech, who watched one go south. Her attempts to ace out didn’t work and instead got under pressure on the rally that forced deuce. The 22nd seed found a spot in the corner to send a crosscourt winner, and on her fourth match point scored on a final error from her opponent ending the match two minutes past three hours on the court.