Pliskova downed by Larsson after drawing Serena in Paris

Serena Williams at the French Open is next up for Kristyna Pliskova, who exited the Nuremberg Cup in the last eight.

Published : May 25, 2018 02:01 IST

Kristyna Pliskova's mood at losing her Nuremberg Cup quarter-final to Johanna Larsson will hardly have improved after learning she will face Serena Williams at the French Open.

The Czech lost two service games in both the second and third sets as she fell to a 5-7 7-5 6-4 defeat in a match lasting just under two hours and 20 minutes.

Pliskova will now have to quickly turn her focus to Williams after drawing the 23-time grand slam champion in the opening round at Roland Garros.

The American will be playing at a major tournament for the first time since winning the 2017 Australian Open, having given birth to her first child last September.

Katerina Siniakova pulled double duty, the eighth seed first beating Veronica Cepede Royg before overcoming qualifier Fanny Stollar 7-5 6-4 in the last eight.

In the second round of the tournament, third seed Kiki Bertens rebounded from losing the opening set to defeat Mona Barthel 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-4, while Alison Riske battled past Yulia Putintseva in three sets.

At the Internationaux de Strasbourg, top seed Ashleigh Barty coasted to a 7-5 6-4 win over Wang Qiang to set up a last-four date with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Zarina Diyas 6-4 6-2.

Dominika Cibulkova will face fellow seed Mihaela Buzarnescu on the other side of the draw, the former seeing off Sam Stosur while the latter overcame Hsieh Su-wei.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment