Pliskova, Kerber set up exciting battle

DUBAI: Former top-ranked players Karolina Pliskova and Angelique Kerber advanced to set up a battle of ex-number ones in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships on Wednesday.

Czech Pliskova, the third seed, beat Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, while Germany’s Kerber dispatched Italian qualifier Sara Errani 6-4, 6-2. Kerber, who won the Sydney title in January before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals, leads the series with her Czech opponent 6-3, winning their last two matches.

“It was a tricky match, especially because she was playing well,” Kerber said after taking the win over Errani on a secondary showcourt at the Aviation Club.“I don’t care which court I play on. It’s always important now to win the matches and focus more on my opponent, on my game, on the next round,” Kerber said. “I know how to play on the centre court. I know how to play on the outside court. It’s just about your mentality, just focusing on not the schedule, more on the game.” The 30-year-old needed 64 minutes and five breaks of serve to take victory.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka beat Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 6-2, 7-6 (7/5), while Russian Elena Vesnina upset Roland Garros champion and fourth seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 7-6 (8/6).

Pliskova, who headed the rankings from mid-July to mid-September, needed a fightback against Suarez Navarro after losing the opening set to her 27th-ranked opponent from the Canary Islands. The Czech won the second set and survived a run of three consecutive breaks of serve in the third, taking a 4-3 lead over Suarez Navarro. Pliskova reached 5-3 and served out the fighting win two games later in just over two hours.“I was not playing the best tennis today, we were both a little bit struggling,” Pliskova said after finishing with 11 aces, six double-faults and losing her serve five times.