Wang outlasts Pliskova in Wuhan second round stunner

WUHAN, China -- In a second-round battle between two of last week's WTA titlists, Wang Qiang of China pulled off an upset of No.8 seed Karolina Pliskova

View Profile of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, in the second round of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open on Tuesday.

Wang sits at a career-high ranking of World No.34 and is newly installed as the Chinese No.1 following her second title of the year, which she claimed at the Guangzhou Open last week. The Chinese player lost easily to Pliskova in their only prior meeting, which took place in Wuhan 12 months prior, but clinched the third Top 10 win of her career this time around, after two hours and eight minutes of play.

Wang broke Pliskova nine times out of 21 break points during the tense, topsy-turvy affair, and was five percent more efficient winning points on both serve and return than Pliskova was. The Czech, who earned her second title of the year last week at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, fell to defeat with 55 unforced errors, slightly more than double her winner count of 27.

In the third round, Wang will take on Daria Gavrilova of Australia, who emerged victorious in a second-round encounter against Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic, by the scoreline of 6-2, 7-6(3). Gavrilova won their only prior encounter, a three-set tussle at Wimbledon in 2016.

In a complete reversal of the two sets from their previous Wuhan clash, it was Wang who raced through the opening set. Pliskova struggled to keep the ball in play, as her 17 unforced errors outpaced her 11 winners, while Wang was consistent and hit five winners and only five unforced errors.

Pliskova fell behind 5-1 in the blink of an eye, and had to save two set points in that game before reaching game point. But two consecutive errors from the Czech’s backhand gave Wang a third set point, and a mistake off the Pliskova forehand ceded the opening set to the Chinese player.

But Pliskova rebounded in the second set. Just like in the opening set, the first three games of the second set went against serve, but in this case, it was Pliskova who held the 2-1 advantage, and she in turn held for 3-1. Wang then faltered from 40-0 up in the next game, collapsing into double faults and errors and handing over another break.

After an off-court medical timeout at 5-2, Wang grabbed one break back, erasing a set point with an error-forcing forehand, and claiming a second game in a row for 5-3. But Pliskova tied the match in the following game, breaking Wang for the fourth time in the set after a forehand by the Chinese player went long.

In the deciding set, Wang drew first blood, as Pliskova dropped serve at 1-1, with two of her 11 double faults coming in that game. Wang then had two break points to take a 4-1 lead, but Pliskova pulled herself out of the danger zone with incandescent forehands to stay within one break.

The Czech was rewarded for this fortitude with a sloppy subsequent game from Wang, as the top-ranked Chinese woman fired a number of errors to quickly drop serve and put the set back level at 3-3. But Pliskova’s momentum was short-lived, as Wang ramped up the aggression on her groundstrokes, culminating in a stunning crosscourt forehand to force an error and put her back up a break.

An incredible game filled with masterful points followed, as Wang used outlandish passing shots and steadfast defense to repel two break points and hold for 5-3 after five deuces. The wind went out of Pliskova’s sails after that, and she fell behind 0-40 in the next game, giving Wang three match points. Strong groundstrokes by the Czech saved the first two, but she double faulted on the third to end the mesmerizing tilt.

More to follow....