Karolina Pliskova beats Angelique Kerber, Taylor Fritz seals maiden ATP title at Eastbourne
EASTBOURNE: Karolina Pliskova beat Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 6-1, 6-4 in the Eastbourne final on Saturday, just two days before the grass-court Grand Slam starts in southwest London.The No. 3-ranked Pliskova took the first set in just 31 minutes with three service breaks Saturday, and held on to an early break in the second to win the title. She fired seven aces and won 71 percent of points on her first serve.Pliskova said the score didn’t accurately reflect a tough match.“I was fighting a lot and I think Angelique is one of the best grass-court players,” she said.Pliskova didn’t drop a set all week in Eastbourne, and dropped just 19 games across five matches, including a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of fourth-ranked Kiki Bertens in the semifinals. She’s never gone further than the fourth round at Wimbledon.Kerber hasn’t won a tournament since beating Serena Williams in last year’s Wimbledon final.Pliskova previously won Eastbourne in 2017, a year after losing the final. Kerber has lost all three finals she has played at the Wimbledon tuneup.Kerber starts her Wimbledon title defense against fellow German Tatjana Maria, and is in the same quarter of the draw as Williams and top-ranked Ash Barty. Pliskova starts against China’s Zhu Lin.Taylor Fritz won an all-American final for the men’s Eastbourne title, beating Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-4. It’s the first career ATP title for the 21-year-old son of former top-10 player Kathy May.Fritz broke in Querrey’s first service game in each set and each time held on to take the set.Querrey is 10-9 in career finals.
