Top Seed Karolina Pliskova Bounced From U.S. Open As Women’s Draw Remains Wide Open

Karolina Pliskova once got to No. 1 in the world rankings without winning a Grand Slam tournament.

She won’t win her first major title at the U.S. Open, either.

The No. 1 seed at an event missing six of the world’s Top 10 women, Pliskova lost in the second round to No. 32 Caroline Garcia of France, 6-1, 7-6(2).

“In the tiebreak, I was really aggressive and I really went for it,” Garcia said in her on-court interview.

“I arrived to stay focused. I knew maybe she was going to come back. She was not going to give me the match for sure so I had to be ready for everything. When she came back, I arrived to stay calm and I think it was the most important.”

Pliskova got so frustrated with her play during the match, that she smashed her racquet at one point.

Garcia, who will next play No. 28 Jen Brady of the U.S., became just the third woman to beat the No. 1 seed before the third round.

“It’s always tricky to play against [Brady] but I really want to enjoy this match because she’s going to be a very good player in a few years so I always want to give my shot and give everything,” Garcia said.

Ranked No. 3 in the world, Pliskova was the top seed in New York because world No. 1 Ash Barty and No. 2 Simona Halep opted out over COVID concerns. Defending champion Bianca Andreescu is also not in New York.

Garcia’s last win against a top-5 opponent came over Pliskova on an indoor hardcourt in Tianjin, China in October 2018. She is now 4-3 against Pliskova.

Pliskova is one of three women to become No. 1 in the world without winning a major title, after Dinara Safina and Jelena Jankovic.

No. 3 seed Serena Williams, who plays her second-round match Thursday and is seeking her record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, and No. 4 Naomi Osaka, who was slated to play Wednesday night, remain the favorites on the women’s side.

Still, women’s tennis in general has been wide open in recent years.

While the “Big Three” of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have won the last 13 Grand Slam titles dating to the 2016 U.S. Open, 11 different women have captured the last 13 major titles. Only Osaka and Simona Halep have won two during that span.

Also on Wednesday, No. 6 Petra Kvitova, the two-time Wimbledon champion, advanced and will face American Jessica Pegula.

Pegula was one of several American women to win Wednesday, along with Brady, who won the Top Seed Open in Kentucky last month, and Shelby Rogers.

No. 17 Angelique Kerber, a three-time Grand Slam champion who won the Open in 2016, also advanced and is one of several former major champions still in the draw.