Playing her first ever match for the No.1 WTA ranking, Angelique Kerber lost to Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-1 in the final of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
The opening was full of Kerber’s errors and the German handed her first service game to Pliskova at love. Fired up, the Czech raced to a 4-0 lead, even though her opponent’s play was not as bad as in the first game. Kerber then won three straight games, approaching Pliskova, but the world No.17 attacked again, winning the set 6-3 with a perfect 100% conversion of break points.
In the second set, Pliskova continued to paint the lines, while Kerber lacked aggressiveness, reflecting in an early 4-1 lead for the 15th seed. The story continued through the set and Pliskova won the biggest title of her career, denying Kerber the No.1 ranking.
It turned out to be a very wise decision by Pliskova to skip the Olympics in order to have more time for practice, which resulted in an absolutely confident performance throughout this week that included victories over two reigning Grand Slam champions.
Pliskova’s winning apparel: the Fila Heritage Racerback Tank and the matching Fila Heritage Skirt, including timeless colors black, red and white.
Stay tuned, as our photographer Omar Boraby was at the final and he’ll post his gallery soon!
