World Sport News

Stuttgart winner Karolina Pliskova continues to show herself in impressive form on the red ash. On Thursday afternoon, she beat defending champion Simona Halep in two sets in Madrid.

Pliskova won after a strong performance with 6:4, 6:3 and is now unbeaten for nine matches. Haleps Madrid series of 15 won matches in a row is now cracked – the Romanian had won the tournament in the past two years. She will continue to travel to Rome as number one, but the world rankings lead there is once again in the balance.

Pliskova scored 20 direct points with only 16 unforced mistakes; Halep, on the other hand, made 26 mistakes without necessity. Pliskova had a strong serve and only allowed one break point, which Halep also used. However, the first in the world rankings gave up her service four times.

It was only the third victory against Halep for Pliskova – with six defeats. Her two victories so far came from the Fed Cup. After her last defeat, she said: “For me, Halep is the most difficult match-up. I pray she’s not in my draw next time.”

In the semi-final, Pliskova will now face the winner between Petra Kvitova and Daria Kasatkina, who will play their quarter-final from 9.30 pm.

The ladies’ single tableau in Madrid