Pliskova, Wozniacki advance to title match in Qatar

[February 18, 2017]  The Sports Xchange

Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic rode a powerful serve on Friday to advance to the championship match of the Qatar Open at Doha, Qatar.

Pliskova delivered a career-high 21 aces to squeeze out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 semifinal win over No. 3 seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia.

The 24-year-old Pliskova will face former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in Saturday's title match. Wozniacki dominated Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-1, 6-2 in her semifinal.

Pliskova and Wozniacki each had to win two matches Friday in the rain-plagued tournament. Pliskova overpowered Zhang Shuai of China 6-2, 6-0, while Wozniacki ousted Lauren Davis, 7-5, 6-1.

"I'm really excited, especially after what a long, tough day it's been," Pliskova said after dispatching Cibulkova. "Having two wins today is amazing, and I just beat Domi for the first time in my life. It was tough conditions, and so I don't think it was the best tennis out there. But it's a win, so it counts."

With the match tied at 3-3 in the third set, Pliskova saved a pair of break points before winning the final two games to close out Cibulkova.

"That definitely gave me more confidence," said Pliskova, who hit 40 winners and had just one double fault. "I knew I had a chance to break her, and I did."

Wozniacki, a 2011 finalist in this event, needed 70 minutes to punch her ticket to the final with a surprisingly easy victory over reigning Olympic gold medalist Puig.

"It sounds amazing, but also makes me feel a little old," Wozniacki said of the six-year gap between finals. "It's been a great week, really tough conditions with all the waiting, but I managed to keep focus and play some of my best tennis out there."

Wozniacki converted five of seven break-point chances to earn the right to play Pliskova. Wozniacki has never lost to the two-time U.S. Open finalist but they haven't played since 2014.

"She's playing really well, serving really well," Wozniacki said. "It's going to be a great final and I'm excited for it."

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