Unflappable Pliskova through to Saturday's final

This much we know in tennis: if you don’t take your chances, you’ll pay the price. Karolina Pliskova’s first set against Aryna Sabalenka was a story of eight break points not taken; but instead of crumbling, the Czech regrouped to take every chance thereafter. For just the third time in the last 34 Grand Slam semi-finals, the woman who won the first set was not the ultimate victor.

In this shootout between two of the most powerful hitters around Pliskova kept her head, making the right decisions in the scant window available. Sabalenka outhit her, but Pliskova’s quality of return won the day. In a reversal of fortune as stunning as it was intelligent, the Czech triumphed 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in seven minutes under two hours.

When she faces Ashleigh Barty on Saturday, it will be the first time since 1977 that the duel for the Venus Rosewater Dish has been fought out between two players who have never reached the final here before.

“It’s amazing to be in the final,” smiled Pliskova. “It’s an incredible achievement. It was an amazing match from both of us. I had so many chances in the first set and got a bit frustrated, but she was serving unbelievable. A lot of credit to her, but super happy that I managed to find the way to win.

“It’s tough to enjoy it when she’s playing so fast that you don’t have time to think about what you want to do. There were some good rallies. I stayed focused. It was close. I stayed calm and positive, trusting in myself and my game. I’m proud.”

With Pliskova playing her first match on the Centre Court this Fortnight, for so long the first set was exactly as anticipated. Flak jackets and tin hats on, everyone. The big guns had arrived, with the two women frequently firing so low over the net that the ball regularly wiped its feet on the netcord.

But while Sabalenka could make no significant impression on her opponent’s serve, Pliskova’s openings came so often that the law of averages dictated she must convert – or so it seemed.

Yet on the eight occasions she faced break point, Sabalenka crunched the crisis via an unreturnable serve, and the last chance yielded no joy either. For a long while Pliskova was unruffled, content to bide her time, not getting down on herself for the opportunities missed; but when number eight came and went, even her habitually unreadable countenance cracked, and she hurled her racket to the ground.

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Just as the tie-break seemed certain, at 5-6 Pliskova made two mistakes. Sabalenka crafted a rally beautifully, crowning it with a gorgeous touch at the net to bring up not only her first break point but set point to boot. All her sharpshooting skills were at the ready, but Pliskova’s response was the worst of all – a double fault. It was the first set she had lost in the entire Fortnight.

Many a player would have been utterly crushed. Not Pliskova. When another hat-trick of break points came her way at 2-2 in the second chapter, this time she pounced on Sabalenka’s second serve with a pummelling return which the Belarusian couldn’t handle.

As the set went on, the two women produced an exhibition of fabulous serving in which neither gave ground. But when it came to sealing the set, Pliskova’s resolve held and she answered the invitation without hesitation.

It was no surprise to see this match going the distance. The two of them had met twice before, producing three-setters both times. Sabalenka was the victor on both occasions, with one of those wins on the grass of Eastbourne.

It seemed extra telling that back then the Belarusian was the lower-ranked player – so surely now, with Sabalenka in the ascendancy, she would have the edge? After all, as Pliskova arrived in SW19 her ranking slipped out of the top ten for the first time since 2016.

But not for nothing does the Czech have three grass court titles to her name. With the ace count from both women rocketing into the stratosphere, Sabalenka’s serve was even bigger than Pliskova’s. But the Czech was returning better – and at the start of the decider, that factor proved pivotal. Sabalenka floundered momentarily, and Pliskova was right there to punish her.

So many times the Czech has fallen short of expectations. Despite the seven weeks she spent as No.1 in 2016, the closest she has come to a Grand Slam title was as losing finalist to Angelique Kerber in the US Open that year.

But this time the 29-year-old did not crack. It’s a strange quirk that no No.2 seed has reached the final here since Serena Williams in 2009, and Sabalenka would not be the player to snap that statistic. Pliskova served it out with an ace. Having never been beyond the fourth round here, she is in the Wimbledon final.