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Pliskova has done a great job in Nurnberg

After beating Kerber, Pliskova has come back from being a set behind against Svitolina and won with some conviction. She has shown a really impressive and assured serve. On the other hand, Bouchard has not had any problems against Knapp but she is facing a more difficult task now

Karolina had a poor start of the match against Svitolina and was soon down by 2-6, 0-1. But she managed to get into the groove, take the initiative and change the situation on the court. A great performance got her the following 10 games in a row and Svitolina looked like an amateur against her at certain points. The reason for that was not Svitolina's poor performance but a great performance from Pliskova.

Unlike the first set, Pliskova was much more assured in the second. She got the winners in rallies in a very impressive manner and Svitolina had no answer to that. Just how well she played is reflected in the comments that even Serena would struggle against Pliskova in this form.

- I opened the match poorly, but I woke up after the first set and got aggressive. I am happy to have been able to get back to win the second and the third set. I'm doing well in Nurnberg and I'm feeling great - said Pliskova. 

On the other hand, Bouchard's every performance has been opposite of what's expected. While she was unconvincing against Shvedova with only 52% of winners after the first serve, Bouchard managed to beat Knapp after only 2 sets with a great performance on her serve. She got 84% points after 61% successful first serves and she didn't give the Italian too many chances on the return.

Bouchard was too consistent for Knapp who looked to take the initiative in rallies but also made too many mistakes. It was those mistakes that stopped her from putting Bouchard under pressure and it was the biggest reason for her convincing defeat. Bouchard played a very good match and was happy after her win:

- She played very well but I know she can do even better. It was a good match. I played a tough match against Pliskova at the US Open last year. She had a really strong game. I will have to prepare for that but I will also try to focus on my own game. I have improved a lot in Nurnberg but I hope I can improve even more for tomorrow. 

Even though Pliskova has shown great improvement with her footwork and has played a really good tennis, she has to beat a different player than Kerber and Svitolina. Unlike them, Bouchard also tries to take the initiative, which could cause a lot of problems for Pliskova. However, Karloina has been really impressive in last two matches and one can realistically expect her to put up solid resistance in the final.

Bouchard was not displaying her best game throughout the tournament. She mostly won only because her opponents weren't good. Shvedova managed to put more fight and calmness decided that match. In the semi final, Knapp once again allowed the pressure to influence her game too much. Bouchard did average matches with good serving, and to some extent her tennis was not aggressive enough. On the other hand, Pliskova was impressive. She's got the confidence and the strength of her shots is simply amazing. She beat Kerber and Svitolina easily, and showed improvement in her moving on clay. I think Pliskova will manage to take initiative in this match, and that she will be the one to dictate the rallies. The only question is, will she be able to control the number of unforced mistakes. Judging by the last two matches, that shouldn't be a problem either. heir first head to head match was settled in the very end of the third set, and I am convinced that Pliskova can put up a good fight here, and maybe even win the title.