By Erik Gudris | Thursday, August 28, 2014

 

Karolina Pliskova earned a massive win over Ana Ivanovic at the US Open. Find out more about this rising Czech player.

Photo Credit: AP

Karolina Pliskova stunned many by knocking out No. 8 seed Ana Ivanovic in the US Open second round. Learn more about this big serving Czech player.

1. Vital Statistics: Pliskova was born on March 21, 1992 in Louny, Czech Republic where she still resides.

2. Sister Act: Karolina has a sister named Kristyna that she often plays doubles with on tour. They won the 2010 Wimbledon Girls Doubles title together.

3. Early Years: Karolina Pliskova as a junior won the 2010 Australian Open Girls title. Pliskova later played in many ITF events when she first started out on the pro tour. From 2006 to 2010, Pliskova won several singles titles on the ITF circuit.

4. 2013 Breakthrough: Pliskova won her first WTA main draw title in Kuala Lumpur. She also made her top 100 singles ranking debut. Later in the year, she and her sister won their first WTA doubles title in Linz making them the first twin sisters to do so.

5. Singles Success: In 2014, the big serving Pliskova has enjoyed several good results on the WTA tour. She reached the Nurnberg finals losing to Eugenie Bouchard. That effort, and more, propelled her to a career high singles ranking of No. 41 in August.

6. New York Moment: Pliskova defeated former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic to reach the US Open third round, her best result so far at a Grand Slam.

7. On Beating Ivanovc: "My serve, that's the main point. I was serving well. But I was trying to play aggressive. I know if will not be that aggressive she's gonna do more winners than I, so I was trying to stay aggressive and to go to every point. Well, of course she's great player. She played good. But she did few mistakes which I think was the deciding point."

8. On Her Progression From Juniors to the Pros: "Well, yes, of course it takes some time, you know, when we are starting to play juniors. And then we won some matches like Grand Slams in juniors, and then going to women's it's totally different tennis in women's. So then you're starting to play ITF. Everything is needs time. Then you need those matches more against better players and better players. So years (smiling)."

9. Off-Court: Enjoys fishing, music. Favorite movies are "Rocky" and "Public Enemies".

10. Social Savvy: Connect with Pliskova on her website.