Wimbledon 2021: Aryna Sabalenka vs Karolina Pliskova preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match details

Fixture: (2) Aryna Sabalenka vs (8) Karolina Pliskova

Date: 8 July 2021

Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon

Round: Semifinals

Venue: London, Great Britain

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Grass

Prize money: £17,066,000

Match timing: Approx. 3.30 pm local time, 2.30 pm GMT, 10.30 am EST, 8 pm IST

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP

Aryna Sabalenka vs Karolina Pliskova preview

World No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka will look to secure a spot in her maiden Grand Slam final when she takes on eighth seed Karolina Pliskova on Thursday.

Sabalenka has won titles on hard and claycourt this year and is looking to taste glory on grass as well. She arrived at SW19 on the back of a quarterfinal appearance at Eastbourne and has since got better with every match.

The 23-year-old broke new ground at Wimbledon on Monday by making it to her first-ever Slam quarterfinal. She has now gone a step further, reaching the semis with a 6-4, 6-3 win over 21st seed Ons Jabeur.

Sabalenka appears to have conquered her inner demons and is playing without any pressure.

Pliskova, meanwhile, seems to have rediscovered her best form after months of struggle. In 12 events prior to the grasscourt Major, the Czech managed to breach the quarterfinal hurdle just once, in Rome. On that occasion, she suffered the ignominy of being double bageled by Iga Swiatek in the summit clash.

Pliskova subsequently fell out of the top 10 and lost both her opening matches at the Wimbledon warm-up events.

Needless to say, the former World No. 1 arrived in London with her confidence at an all-time low. But she has managed to turn things around spectacularly.

The former US Open runner-up hasn't dropped a set in five matches and is now one of six active women to have reached the semifinals of all four Majors. She will once again need to be at her flawless best on Thursday against Sabalenka as she looks to earn another shot at winning a Slam.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Karolina Pliskova head-to-head

Aryna Sabalenka leads Karolina Pliskova 2-0 in the head-to-head, with the Belarusian winning both meetings in three sets. They first met on the grasscourts of Eastbourne in 2018 while their next showdown happened a few weeks later at Cincinnati.

Aryna Sabalenka vs Karolina Pliskova prediction

This match has all the makings of a classic. Both Sabalenka and Pliskova like to hit the ball aggressively from the baseline, so the outcome could be decided by the player who can keep their error count to a minimum.

Serve will also be crucial in this match. Pliskova has looked comfortable on serve throughout her Wimbledon sojourn. Against Viktorija Golubic in the quarterfinals, the Czech served eight aces and won 83% of her first-serve points.

The former World No. 1 has been playing first-strike tennis of the highest order, making her extremely lethal over the past fortnight.

Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, has had her hiccups on serve but has managed to counter those with powerful baseline play. She served three aces against Ons Jabeur but committed five double faults. This is an area the second seed needs to address before her meeting with Pliskova.

Sabalenka can also tend to leak errors off her forehand wing. But if she gets into her groove, she can be a difficult opponent to subdue. When her hard-hitting game works, there are few players in the world that can withstand the Belarusian's onslaught.

Moreover, the Belarusian seems to have freed herself of the weight of expectations, which has long been her Achilles heel. She is clearly enjoying herself on the court and as long as her game doesn't unravel, she should be able to make it to her maiden Slam final.

Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka to win in three sets.