LADIES TENNIS RESULTS FROM BIRMINGHAM BY GLOBAL CHICK

Written by: Global Chick on 21st June 2015

LADIES TENNIS RESULTS FROM BIRMINGHAM BY GLOBAL CHICK |

Photo by Lovey.

Global Chick closes the book on Birmingham

You have to hand it to the stoicism of this nation. We come out in all weathers, grimly determined to be on show at the merest hint of a speck of sunshine. The weather has tried us tremendously in this fair city, this stomping ground of my youth.

The crowds who had endured rain, threats of thunder-storms looking to fry them in their seats and they deserved a decent final. And they got one.

At the off, it looked as though it could be all one way traffic by Kerber as she struck first at the start of the match with a break, and looked to be on fire, but Pliskova has made it to four finals already this year, picking up the title in Prague.

However, serving at 5-3 to take the first set, Kerber generously handed away the four set points that presented themselves, giving the Czech a way back into the match. Cue lots of thigh-slapping and foot tapping (but not quite in that jolly Bavarian drinking style) as Kerber soon found herself on the wrong end of a tie-break score.

Time to regroup then, with the pair swapping breaks but Kerber seems never happier than when she is coming from behind, rather than snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, as the momentum slowly shifted towards her. Her clean flat hitting drew the errors from Pliskova, leveling the match.

Just as in the first set, a break put the German at a 3-1 lead, but it can be a nervy affair when you are watching any counter-puncher – and Kerber is certainly no exception to that rule of torture. As she served out at 5-4, Pliskova had other things on her mind, pushing back to break and eventually giving us a tie-break to decide a brace of trophies and a huge bottle of champers.

Four mini-breaks came and went before Pliskova and Kerber settled themselves down a little in the tie-break, but Pliskova blinked first, losing her serve and setting Kerber up with a match point. A lame Czech return into the bottom of the net would have been great if this was the Women’s World Cup and the net was a goal. But it wasn’t, and it was Kerber’s moment. Goodness there was even a little sun too.

Photo by Lovey.

It has been great fun watching Pliskova really come into form on the grass – it’s a surface that has been kind to her countrywomen of late, but it was worth asking what it was about this week that had clicked, where she had never won back to back matches on the green stuff before.

She said: “When I was coming here those two years before I always lost in first round; you just have to survive somehow the first round because it’s not always easy. I wasn’t practicing on grass. We don’t have in Czech Republic grass, so it’s tough. I was practicing on hard court, so the first round is always tough.

“But if you can get through it somehow the next round are better and better. That’s the main thing. I almost lost the first round here as well, but I survived, and I think that’s why I came stronger.”

With the grass court season having been rarer than the elusive pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, Kerber now joins a select group of titlists on all surfaces.

“That’s feeling very good. I think this one is really special for me because it’s the first title on grass for me, and here in Birmingham I had a great week. Everybody is so friendly. And the fans on the centre court, was amazing to play with the support. I’m really proud about my game.

“I don’t have a lot of expectation also here. I mean, I came here to have a lot of matches before Wimbledon. That’s also my goal in Eastbourne, you know, going there and have like few more matches. Let’s see how many, and then going to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence. So that’s my goal.”

And with that we head in the same direction as Kerber and Pliskova as the Global Chick train (or rather, 2 litre Turbo Diesel) heads to Eastbourne for the final furlong before Wimbledon.

Topics: Angelique Kerber, Birmingham, global chick, Pliskova, Sports, Tennis, Wta