Karolina Pliskova is only the fourth woman to beat both Williams sisters in the same Grand Slam tournament — and she thinks needing to face Venus in the U.S. Open’s fourth round was quite useful when it came time to face Serena in the semifinals.
The 10th-seeded Pliskova, a 24-year-old who hadn’t been past the third round at any major until now, said after beating No. 1-seeded Serena 6-2, 7-6 (5) on Thursday night that she found the siblings’ games similar. Pliskova eliminated No. 6 Venus, a two-time U.S. Open champion, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), saving a match point along the way.
Pliskova said she knew facing Serena would be “a little bit about the same match” as playing Venus.
“Same serving, same speed,” she said.
Playing Venus in Arthur Ashe Stadium, in front of a crowd pulling for the American, also was good preparation for taking on Serena in the same setting.
The only other women to beat the two Williams siblings at one major were Martina Hingis at the 2001 Australian Open, Justine Henin at the 2007 U.S. Open, and Kim Clijsters at the 2009 U.S. Open.
Pliskova is 24, 10 years younger than Serena and 12 years younger than Venus, and remembers watching them play on TV as she grew up.
“Definitely, they did a lot for tennis,” Pliskova said. “And both of them, they are such a great champions. You can still see it, even now. Even if they lose they are still behaving like champions.”
