Mutua Madrid Open 2019: Karolina Pliskova Stunned, Angelique Kerber Withdraws

Published 05/07/2019, 2:23 PM EDT

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Mutua Madrid Open 2019 saw two upsets in a row after the former World no.1, Karolina Pliskova was stunned by the rising Ukrainian star Kateryna Kozlova and Angelique Kerber withdraws.

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Kateryna Kozlova debuting at the Mutua Madrid Open 2019 matched her career best result with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Karolina Pliskova. She reached the last 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open 2019. This was the second top 5 win for Kozlova in her career. She recently reached the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. Kozlova will face Belinda Bencic in the round of 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open 2019.

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Kozlova said in the on-court interview. “It feels great. She’s an unbelievable player, and to beat her is what we are working for, to play these kinds of players. I’m very happy with the win.” 

Kateryna Kozlova started her campaign at the Mutua Madrid Open 2019 stunning the 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko.

“I was trying to be focused on holding my serve; that was very important, as was fighting for every point. Whenever I had an opportunity, I tried to take it. It went well for me!”, said the Ukranian.

During the first set, Kozlova got an early break but Pliskova broke back straight. She lost her serve again at the 11th game, granting Kateryna to serve for the set.

Pliskova regrouped herself and fought back hard to level the match. She broke twice to win the second set 6-2. It was the lesser number of unforced errors compared to the first set which helped Karolina to win the set.

The final set was the replica of the first with both the players exchanging breaks earlier in the set. But it was Kozlova who broke Pliskova again and held his serve until the end of the set, winning the final set 6-4.

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While on the other hand, Angelique Kerber withdraws from the Mutua Madrid Open 2019 on Tuesday before her match up against Petra Martic. Kerber is suffering from an ankle injury.

Kerber said in a statement at the press conference, “I think it’s not too serious, but I’m not able to give today everything and that’s why I decide to be safe for the rest of the clay court season.”

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“I cannot really walk without pain, so this is why I really said ‘Okay, it’s better to not risk it,’ because I feel it when I’m walking and this is a not a good sign to going on court and giving everything, two or three hours running out there,” added the German.

The no. 4 seed defeated Lesia Tsurenko 6-3, 6-2 in the opening round of the Mutua Madrid Open 2019. But the 21-year-old twisted her ankle during her practice on Tuesday.

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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