Karolina Pliskova stuns Venus Williams in WTA Finals Round 1

The WTA Finals Singapore are here and the 8 ladies are ready to play. What they may not be ready for are the results that round robin play will produce.

Venus Williams and Karolina Pliskova were designated to pair up for the round robin No. 1 and everyone was anxious to see these two lady powerhouses start the WTA Finals.

Williams has a long tennis resume with 49 singles and 22 doubles titles as well as 7 Grand Slam titles and so many more accolades to string along. She can make the most unpredictable shots, remaining in focus until the winning point is hers.

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Williams plays with invincible courage and fortitude and has staying power on all surfaces.

The Czech, Karolina Pliskova has been ranked No. 1 in the world months ago. She’s won 9 singles and 5 doubles titles on the WTA tour. She knows how it is to play two matches on the same day as she did this year in Doha and to win both.

The last time that Williams and Pliskova met was at the 2016 US Open’s fourth round and Williams lost to her Czech opponent in 3 sets.

The time before that was in 2015 at the WTA Elite Trophy in the final with Williams being the winner in straight sets. They had leveled off with their wins but what was to come was surprising for the 6 other WTA Finals women, fans, and the tennis community to see.

It was from the onset of the match that Karolina Pliskova came on aggressive and with her strategies in tact. She dealt with the Venus Williams rallies, but it didn’t unravel the Czech’s game plan as she routinely found the open court and even the small areas to bounce her returns, unable for the veteran Williams to reach.

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There were many rallies that Williams kept pace with and she did score a few games but the end of the speeding cross courts too often were unforced errors that landed in the net, long or wide in the alleys. It wasn’t long before the first set was over 6-2 in Pliskova’s favor at nearly 40 minutes.

At the break after the first set, Pliskova was composed and didn’t seem to need the reassurance from court coaching that retired player, now commentator/analyst Rennae Stubbs ran to provide. The Czech was doing quite fine and might have wondered when the ‘real Venus’ would appear to give her a great challenge.

Williams sat thinking of what strategies she could do to gain more games as her long-time coach David Witt, sister, and team looked on helplessly. But it was during the 5th game of the last set there was a glimpse of the vintage Williams. She had precise serves, great cross courts and fierce smashes, but when the time came to put the shot away, the intensity fizzled and the shot landed in the net. No one could understand how the Czech moved so fluid and Williams played quite tense with the score being 6-2, 6-2. Could it have been that she was tired? Unfamiliar with Pliskova’s strategies? Or was it just a combination of everything? Something for sure happened, but it seemed like Pliskova had brought her bag of tennis strategies and sprinkled them all over the court and then left being a winner.