“If you told me a month ago we'd be sitting in this position, I really wouldn't have thought that we would even get close.”
This was Ash Barty’s response when asked to reflect on her achievement of reaching her first Wimbledon final.
REPORT: Barty to meet Pliskova in first Wimbledon final
The world No.1 sustained an acute hip injury at Roland Garros that forced her to retire during her second-round match against Magda Linette, and which completely altered her traditional grass-court preparation.
Barty arrived at the All England Club without a competitive match on grass in two years yet has won 11 consecutive sets to reach the final, her latest victory coming over Angelique Kerber in the first of Thursday’s women’s semifinals.
In the title match she will face Karolina Pliskova, another player with few wins under her belt in the lead-up to the Championships.
The veteran Czech out-served Aryna Sabalenka in a brilliant second semifinal to reach her first major final in five years, and now stands one win away from her first ever Grand Slam singles title.
Pliskova: “Still half like I can’t believe it”
Pliskova had recently appeared in the WTA Rome final, but was shocked by a staggering 6-0 6-0 thumping at the hands of Iga Swiatek.
She won only one of her next four matches, exiting in the second round at Roland Garros and failing to win a match on grass. She also fell behind 5-2 in the first set of her opening-round match at Wimbledon against Tamara Zidansek.
But she saved a set point, turned that match around, and has been unstoppable since.
“Of course you need to win couple matches to feel this way and to play the best tennis. It's tough to really play in the first round, especially after you lose couple times in the first rounds, not really playing that amazing,” Pliskova said of her significant form reversal.
“I think I was close to playing a good level, but somehow I was not able to really, like, win all those matches. It's not that I would be playing horrible. Sometimes you're just missing a little bit and you're not doing anything wrong.
“I think sometimes just to hang in there is super important, which I did.”
“Hanging in” was especially important against Sabalenka, who had won their only two previous meetings and who snatched the first set despite Pliskova generating eight break point opportunities.
Pliskova played one of the finest matches of her career to win the next two sets.
She fired 32 winners while keeping her unforced errors to 17, won almost 80 per cent of first-serve points, and offered Sabalenka just one look at a break point for the entire contest.
It was also an impressively nerveless, composed display – she was authoritative when serving for the match, closing it out with her 14th ace.
“I think still half like I can't believe it,” Pliskova said.
“Coming into this tournament, the dream was to make the second week, of course, because I was not in the second week for a while. Never I thought about maybe going into the final.
“So many amazing players in the draw. Also, like (Sabalenka), I never beat her. Especially after losing the first set, I thought it was going to be super tough to win this match.
“Super proud about the way how I handled the situation out there, the second and third set, and that I served out the match.”
“A moment of relief” for Barty
Barty had compiled an incredible record in 2021 prior to Roland Garros, winning three titles and almost 30 singles matches before her momentum was significantly stalled.
Like Pliskova, she could not have been certain that her preparation for the tournament would translate to match wins on the lawns of the All England Club.
But also like the Czech, she has only dropped one set this fortnight.
“I think we had 23 or 24 days in between finishing up in Paris and my first round here. To be honest, it was going to be touch-and-go,” Barty revealed. “Everything had to be spot on to give myself a chance to play pain-free and to play knowing that I could trust my body.
“I think it's pretty special what we've been able to do the last month.”
Also making it special for the Australian is how much she has been able to enjoy her experience at SW19.
She is playing the tournament exactly 10 years after winning the junior singles title here, and 50 years after her mentor and friend Evonne Goolagong won her first Wimbledon title – a milestone Barty has recognised in wearing an outfit inspired by Goolagong’s iconic 1971 dress.
Barty also enjoyed the experience of taking on former champion Kerber, and played magnificently to come out on top in two entertaining sets.
“It was just almost a moment of relief, a moment of pure excitement. It was something that I'd never, never knew if I would feel,” Barty said about clinching match point.
“I think being able to have an opportunity to play in a final here at Wimbledon is incredible.
“That match was a great level, the best level I've played, in quite some time. I think Angie is an incredible competitor. She brought out the best in me today.
“I think when you're playing in a big match like that, of course there's a lot on the line. (But) I think I was really able to enjoy myself today right from the start. I had a lot of fun. That was a focus of mine. I wanted to go out there and enjoy playing against Angie in such an incredible moment.
“To be able to bring a level of tennis like I did was kind of the cherry on top.”