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“Of course, she makes you feel a bit ugly with the game she’s playing,” Pliskova said of Barty on Thursday. It seems Pliskova was comparing her own power-centered style with Barty’s smoother and more complete all-court game.
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It’s true that Barty does more things well on a tennis court than just about anyone else playing today; like one of her fellow finalists on the men’s side, Matteo Berrettini, she has even mastered two backhands, a one-hander and a two-hander. But Pliskova, no matter what she thinks of herself, doesn’t play ugly tennis. The timing she has on all of her shots gives her some of the easiest power in the game.
So this final should, if everything goes well, offer an appealing stylistic matchup. Who is more likely to win it?
Counting a match at the Futures level in 2012, the Australian and the Czech have played seven times, and Barty has won five. That includes their last three meetings, one of which came a couple of months ago on clay in Stuttgart. Still, this head to head hardly qualifies as one-sided. Five of those seven matches have gone three sets, and three have been decided in third-set tiebreakers. They’ve met twice on grass—once at the WTA level, once in the Futures event I mentioned above—and each has won once.
“I never played a horrible match against her,” Pliskova said with a smile.
More crucial for her, she feels like she’ll have time to hit her shots against Barty, which wasn’t always true against her more powerful and erratic semifinal opponent, Aryna Sabalenka.
“At least I have a feeling about the game overall with her, which is important,” Pliskova said of Barty. “Definitely there’s going to be chances.”
This should be a competitive and intriguing clash, and an all-business affair.
This should be a competitive and intriguing clash, and an all-business affair.
For Barty, it seems, embracing the moment is paramount. She has always liked grass, but had never made the second week at Wimbledon before this year. She came here after being injured at Roland Garros, and dropped in a set in her first-round match. But since then, she has played this tournament with increasing assurance and aggression. You don’t often see the easygoing Aussie as fired up as she has been after a couple of her wins. Her semifinal opponent, Angelique Kerber is a former Wimbledon champion who was playing as if she might be destined to win another. But Barty took Kerber’s best and beat her in straight sets.
“I think I was really able to enjoy myself today right from the start,” Barty said after her semifinal win. “I had a lot of fun. That was a focus of mine. I wanted to go out there and enjoy playing against Angie in such an incredible moment, and regardless of the result, walk off the court knowing that I enjoyed it, I had fun, and I kind of gave it a crack and gave it my all.”
The question for Barty may be: Can she keep that sense of calm, and continue enjoying herself, even in the Wimbledon final? If she can, her game should flow from there. The question for Pliskova is: Can she continue to use her serve as a weapon and a shield, the way she did against Sabalenka? Pliskova hit 14 aces in the semis; more importantly, she held five straight times in the third set, and held off a hard-charging Sabalenka at the wire.
This should be a competitive and intriguing clash, and an all-business affair; neither player is prone to dramatics. Barty already has a major, and Pliskova doesn’t, but it may come down who thinks she should win this match more than the other. If that’s the case, I’ll take the No. 1 player in the world.
After a hiatus last year, we have finally reached our first Wimbledon final since 2019 with world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty taking on Karolina Pliskova in a tantalizing battle.
There has been a renewed sense of excitement about the courts over the past two weeks as fans returned to the stands. While thoughts of COVID-19 lingered with strict protocols for both competitors and fans, that hasn’t overshadowed the fact that we have been treated to some exceptional matches.
Barty, 25, is the first Australian woman to reach a Wimbledon final since Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Barty has worn a kit honoring her legendary predecessor all tournament, and that inspiration was clear to see in the top seed’s victory over former champion Angelique Kerber in the semifinal.
Barty has never won at Wimbledon, but she does bring significant experience over Pliskova in the final. The No. 8 seed has never won a major title, and Barty has an advantage over her in their head-to-heads (5-2).
So what can Pliskova do to derail Barty’s march toward the title? ESPN analysts Rennae Stubbs, Pam Shriver and James Blake looked at the key elements and previewed the match.
The experience factor
Stubbs: I think both players will be very nervous. Even though both have played in Slam finals before, Wimbledon final day is different. The reverence of this title is second to none, so the importance of it is significant. Who will handle the pressure the best?
Shriver: I think they both have similar experience. They have both been to one major final and they have played in a lot of big matches away from the majors. They’re both going to be as nervous as they have ever been — it’s a Wimbledon final. But I think they have the chops and the experience to settle in, and I actually think it is going to be a really interesting final. I’ve been impressed with how both players are playing their best tennis going into the final. Barty has improved every round and has confidence after suffering a hip injury at the French Open, which is no longer an issue. It’s going to be tough to break serve. I want to see Pliskova and how she comes into that. I think if she can come in and really pressure the Barty backhand, that could be an important tactical move. I don’t think enough people have challenged the Barty backhand coming in.
Blake: Barty is the only one who has the Slam title, so I think there could be some nerves for Pliskova. I think it weighs much more heavily on her since — for a while now — she has been probably the best player in the world (even reaching No. 1) not to have a Slam. So I think there’s just a lot more weighing down on her compared to Barty, who has been there before, and I think she is a little more comfortable and natural on the surface as well.
