Golubic upsets Keys, will try to keep hot streak going against Pliskova
Viktorija Golubic continues her breakthrough 2021 campaign by reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals on Monday. Her reward for upsetting Madison Keys is a meeting with Karolina Pliskova.
Viktorija Golubic at Wimbledon 2021 © AI / Reuters / Panoramic
It has already been a truly manic second Monday at Wimbledon, complete with tense, final-set matches and plenty of upsets. Another surprise took place in the Viktorija Golubic vs. Madison Keys match, and Golubic did not even require a deciding set to get it done.
The Swiss survived a tight first set and then took control against Keys for a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory. Golubic needed one hour and 39 minutes to set up a quarter-final showdown against Karolina Pliskova.
It has been a dream season for Golubic, and that may even be an understatement. The 28-year-old ended 2020 at No 138 in the rankings, but she has won 43 matches in 2021 and is up to 66th in the world. Golubic will break into the top 50 next week even if she loses her next match.
Pliskova next for Gulubic in Wimbledon quarter-finals
It won’t be an easy quarter-final contest against Pliskova on Tuesday. The big-serving Czech is no stranger to facing an underdog but on-fire opponent, as she ran into Liudmila Samsonova on Manic Monday. Samsonova was coming off a title in Berlin and looked incredible through three rounds at the All-England Club. Nonetheless, the Russian was no match for Pliskova.
Although Pliskova had never been past the last 16 at Wimbledon, she had reached at least the semi-finals at every other slam. It felt like only a matter of time for the 29-year-old, and that time was now. Pliskova powered past Samsonova 6-2, 6-3 in just one hour and 15 minutes. The world No 13 struck 10 aces and won 83 percent of her first-serve points. She also benefited from a rare off day for Samsonova, who hit only 11 aces compared to 25 unforced errors.
“(I’m) super happy that I made (the quarter-finals) in singles, because I had only (made it) in doubles, which I thought is horrible,” Pliskova commented. “So now finally it’s my last Grand Slam which I was missing to go to quarters.
“Yeah, (I’m) just really happy about the way I played — all the matches actually, they have been pretty similar from my side. I was super solid, especially today. I think we were super ready for her. I had two days to get ready to this match, and I think we did everything we could just to be ready for her game, for her serve, for everything, so I think it worked pretty well.
“Of course always my game has been to be there. My serve I think was serving quite good today. Everything worked well. I had good strategy, good tactics. I knew what to do, and I did everything what I had to do to win.”
