By Alberto Amalfi | Friday, June 30, 2017
Resilience, stamina and a fast first step carried Caroline Wozniacki into the Eastbourne final.
Wozniacki warded off Heather Watson, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, to advance to the Aegon International Eastbourne final for the first time since 2009 when she won the title.
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“It could have gone both ways, to be honest,” Wozniacki told Annabel Croft afterward. “Heather and I have played two times before and both were tough matches. I knew this was gonna be a difficult one. I got a little lucky today.
“She's a great player. She has good volleys, she mixes up the pace well, she knows how to tactically play as well. So a lot of credit to her.”
The 26-year-old Wozniacki will face US Open finalist Karolina Pliskova for the third time in tomorrow's final.
The third-seeded Pliskova took a walkover into the final when Johanna Konta was forced to withdraw following a back injury she suffered in a nasty fall to the court in the final game of her quarterfinal conquest of world No. 1 Angelique Kerber yesterday.
Asked if she's worried about her status for Wimbledon, the British No. 1 said she's focused on rest and recovery.
"I'm not thinking that far ahead right now," Konta said. "Right now I'm taking this next 24 hours, and I'm looking to rest well and to make sure that I get my health back to the best place possible.
"It's definitely not an ideal situation. I came through a very tough day yesterday. Like the other girls, played a lot of matches. It would have been nice to have competed today against Karolina. I played her in the same stage last year. It would be a nice battle again to have, but again, most importantly is my health regardless of the tournament next week, regardless of this week."
It is the fourth final of the season for Wozniacki, who is playing for her first tournament title since she defeated Kristina Mladenovic to collect her 25th career championship in Hong Kong last fall.
Empowed by a four-game run, Wozniacki took the opening set.
The sixth-seeded Dane broke for a 2-1 second-set lead then Watson hit her stride.
The 126th-ranked Briton broke back at love igniting a four-game run.
Down 2-5, Wozniacki took a medical time-out for treatment of a strained abdominal though she downplayed the severity of the injury afterward.
“It was my ab, left side of the ab,” Wozniacki said. “I felt it when I was serving. I wasn't really affected by it in any other way, but yeah, I got some treatment on it now. Hopefully by tomorrow it will be better. We'll see. It's not that bad, but it's something that can get worse if I don't watch out.”
Rallying from a break down in the decider, Wozniacki broke back for 2-all. The two-time US Open finalist converted her second match point for the final break sealing a two hour, nine minute victory.
While Pliskova had the day off after taking a walkover into the final, Wozniacki will need to combat the ab issue and fatigue from playing three matches in two days as she recuperates for the final.
“I mean, I have played eight sets in a day and a half. That's a lot,” Wozniacki said. “That's a lot of tennis. So definitely it's an advantage for her to be able to rest and just kind of do her normal routine with getting some stretching and stuff done or whatever she does.
“She'll definitely be feeling, you know, fresh tomorrow compared to me, but at the same time, you know, I'm pleased to have gotten a great match in today. Yeah, I feel very happy and good on the grass.”
The former world No. 1 has won four of five meetings with Pliskova, but four of those matches have gone the distance.
The WTA ace leader defeated Wozniacki, 6-3, 6-4, in the Doha final earlier this year. Wozniacki avenged that loss with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the Miami Open semifinals.
The Eastbourne rematch pits Pliskova’s menacing serve and aggression against Wozniacki’s court coverage and counter-punching skills.
“It's going to be a tough match,” Wozniacki said. “Obviously she didn't play today so she will be more well rested for tomorrow. That's a small advantage, but at the same time, I'm just excited to be in another finals this year. Hopefully I will try to make it fourth time lucky.”