Karolina Pliskova, the World No. 3, says she is “very proud” to have qualified for her sixth WTA Finals. Pliskova, 29, reached the WTA Finals four times in a row between 2016 and 2019.
The WTA Finals were cancelled last year owing to the coronavirus outbreak.
Pliskova did not get past the group stage in her first WTA Finals appearance in 2016. Pliskova has lost in the semifinals of the WTA Finals in each of her previous three outings.
“I’m very proud to qualify for the WTA Finals for the fifth time.
“It means you are one of the best of the season and that is always the goal. I look forward to competing in Guadalajara,” Pliskova said.
Karolina #Pliskova has qualified for the 2021 Akron WTA Finals Guadalajara.
— Lorenzo Ercoli (@Ladal17) October 4, 2021
“I’m very proud to qualify for the WTA Finals for the fifth time. It means you are one of the best of the season and that is always the goal. I look forward to competing in Guadalajara.”#WTATour pic.twitter.com/J5RpeGDHL2
Pliskova hasn’t competed in a tournament since the US Open
Pliskova advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open before losing 6-4 6-4 against Maria Sakkari.
“I thought she played very good match, very solid. Of course, I didn’t get many chances on her serve which was a bit frustrating because I didn’t have many matches like this,” Pliskova said.
“My serve was so-and-so today. But just one break in each set. I thought maybe if I could have held the serve a bit longer, maybe I could have more chances than I had.
“No, I mean, of course disappointed, but it’s not like it would be really in my hands, this match.”
Pliskova stated that she was taken aback by Sakkari’s bravado.
“As I said, I didn’t have any chances on her serve. I don’t think I played the best tennis today.”
“I don’t think I was serving the way I was serving the last couple matches which you have to serve against opponents like this because she doesn’t give you much for free,” Pliskova added.
“I was actually not surprised because I know she’s playing well, and we had one practice before this tournament. But I was quite surprised she was really going for her shots.”
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