Karolina Pliskova: “There is No One Like Nadal”

The 2017 French Open semifinalist, Karolina Pliskova praised Rafael Nadal for his clay-court achievements. However, the world No.3 suggested that women’s tennis is different from that of the men’s side and they should not be compared with men.

The Italian Open 2019 champion, Karolina Pliskova praised Rafael Nadal’s clay skills in an interview. The Czech expressed her views on the Spaniard in a statement. She believes that no one can ever reach a level where Nadal is on the clay surface and he is the strongest player ever to play on clay.

She said, “There is no one like Nadal, he is the strongest ever on clay, there will never be once again one like him.”

The 27-year-old also shared her perspective on whether any women can break Nadal’s record. Karolina Pliskova feels that women and men should not be compared as the two are different. She said: “In women’s tennis things are a little bit different. We cannot get compared to men. We are different.”

However, Pliskova feels that the former world No.1 and the 2018 French Open champion, Simona Halep is similar to Rafael Nadal on the clay court. She continued, “But if we look for somebody, I think Simona Halep is a bit similar to Nadal.”

Karolina Pliskova told Omnisport during the French Open 2019 that the Romanian is one of the best clay-court singles players on the WTA tour. She said, “Simona is playing great on clay, she’s always tough to beat, doesn’t matter which surface. On clay, she’s one of the best still, so I think for me Simona she’s still a big favorite here.”

However, the Czech further believes that in a Grand Slam, everything is possible and a new winner can be born. She added, “There is everything possible and maybe here there can be a new winner too. In a grand slam, it can take nerves, it’s two weeks, which is pretty long for a tournament, I think you really need to be strong to go far.”