Former world quantity ones do not usually go beneath the radar on the Australian Open, however Karolina Pliskova has cruised into the last-16 at Melbourne Park nearly unnoticed — and is but to drop a set.
The 30-year-old Czech served up a 6-4, 6-2 demolition of 97th-ranked Russian Varvara Gracheva on Rod Laver Area within the third spherical on Saturday.
It was a classic efficiency from the thirtieth seed, a two-time Grand Slam finalist.
She despatched down six aces and misplaced simply 11 factors in her 9 service video games and, on this kind, should be rated a hazard to any of the highest seeds.
It was a marked distinction to final season when she plummeted from fourth on this planet in the beginning of the yr to thirty first, her lowest year-end rating since 2013.
Alongside the best way she was bundled out of the French Open within the second spherical by a 277th-ranked qualifier as her fortunes on courtroom hit all-time low.
One other second-round exit at Wimbledon prompted her to sack coach Sascha Bajin, the German who had guided Naomi Osaka to back-to-back Grand Slam titles on the 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open.
In December she rehired Bajin. “Thanks for having me again,” the coach tweeted. “Let’s go get it.”
The reunion has lit a spark contained in the Czech, who rose to world primary again in July 2017.
Pliskova has hardly been beneath menace all event in Melbourne, shedding simply 15 video games in six units up to now.
She blew away the harmful Gracheva, who had surprised eighth seed Daria Kasatkina within the first spherical.
It put Pliskova into the Australian Open final 16 for the fourth time, the place she is going to meet twenty third seed Zhang Shuai of China who beat American qualifier Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday.
Pliskova misplaced within the third spherical at Melbourne Park in each 2020 and 2021, and missed final yr due to harm.
Her greatest was a semi-final in 2019 the place she misplaced to Osaka — coached by Bajin.
“Final couple years had been robust, particularly lacking the Australian Open final yr,” Pliskova mentioned after the 77-minute romp.
“I have been enjoying fairly properly early on this yr. So excited to be right here, simply having fun with it, completely satisfied to be again on the centre courtroom with a two-sets victory, yeah.”
Pliskova, who has received 16 profession singles titles, first employed Bajin in November 2020 and he helped her to get to the 2021 Wimbledon closing.
She additionally reached the US Open closing again in 2016 and is in search of a maiden Grand Slam crown, together with her final WTA title in Brisbane three years in the past.
Bajin, the 2018 WTA Coach of the 12 months, has additionally labored with Serena Williams, Kristina Mladenovic and Dayana Yastremska.
“It takes a giant individual to confess one thing and it could’t be straightforward to ask your previous coach again,” the WTA web site quoted Bajin as saying. “For that, I am grateful.”