World No.3 Karolina Pliskova set the Nature Valley International on fire this week, winning all her matches so confidently as if her opponents had just joined the WTA tour, including the final against reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber.
The second-seeded Pliskova played five matches to win the Premier-level title in Eastbourne and all her victories were so dominant that an average duration of her matches was 60 minutes, while two of her opponents were Top 5 players.
During the entire final, Kerber was just trying to stay alive, as Pliskova ruthlessly kept increasing her lead. The fourth-seeded Kerber did manage to break the ace queen once, that’s when she won her first game and decreased the first-set deficit from 0-4 to 4-1, but it was just a short moment of delight for the German. Pliskova won the next four games and although it seemed possible for Kerber to complicate her opponent’s life midway through the second set, the Czech was too strong, never looked back and won the match with a backhand winner on her second match point, 6-1 6-4.
Even though the 31-year-old Kerber played well, Pliskova was simply unbeatable and made the three-time Grand Slam champion feel like a junior player. Kerber can be satisfied win the fact that she won five games on Saturday.
This is Pliskova’s 14 career title and second Eastbourne title in three years. Today’s triumph is boosting the 27-year-old’s bank account with $173,680. Kerber is now 0-3 in Eastbourne finals and is yet to win a title this season.
