The ninth seeded Karolina Pliskova had the task of overcoming German 45th ranked Julia Goerges, once ranked as high as 15 in the world, and owner of a good serve. Potentially a difficult match but Pliskova is capable of handling the challenge.
Goerges opened with her serve and a double fault placed her at 30-40. Thankfully an ace and winning forehand extracted her from a dangerous position and she was the first to register on the scoreboard.
Errors from Pliskova allowed Goerges to gather two break points and despite an ace saving one, a German backhand winner converted the other and Julia led 2-0.
Two double faults helped Goerges lose her next serve, and Pliskova saved a break point in game four with an ace before levelling at 2-2.
Game five had a bit of everything, most of it not good - 3 deuces, 2 break points, a double fault, an ace, an ultimately a service hold by Goerges for 3-2.
The sixth game consisted of five straight errors to sit at 40-30 before an ace from Pliskova added a positive note and games were 3-3.
The following two games both went to serve, Goerges surviving deuce, Pliskova's a love game.
Pliskova capitalised on a range of Goerges errors to level at 5-5 and then the German player delighted us with 3 forehand winners to take the advantage 6-5. A backhand return winner was insufficient from Goerges to prevent Pliskova from holding serve and taking the first set to a tie breaker.
The tie break was tight, with Pliskova having a mini break on a few occasions, only for Goerges to grab it back. At 5 points to 6 and her own serve to come Goerges unfortunately double faulted, granting the set to her Czech opponent 7-6.
Pliskova successfully negotiated a break point and held for 1-0 in the second set and then broke the German serve, Goerges committing too many unforced errors. Pliskova now had the match by the throat, placing her opponent under pressure with effective serving and solid ground strokes.
The fourth game was a positive one for Goerges and she held serve behind some good serves. At 1-3 it was to be her last success for the night.
Pliskova exercised her capacity to run away with a match by winning the final three games and showing why she is top ten material.
Karolina Pliskova defeated Julia Goerges 7-6 6-1
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