By Mike McIntyre
Photo thanks to Jimmie48 Tennis Photography
Karolina and Kristyna Pliskova advanced to the semifinals of the doubles draw in Beijing at the China Open with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the No. 4 seeds Gaby Dabrowski and Julie Xu.
I caught-up with Karolina in the summer when she was in Toronto for the Rogers Cup and asked her about a recent singles match where her sister Kristyna (ranked much lower on the WTA) emerged victorious 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(7) to take a 5-4 advantage in their career head to head.
Having twins myself I couldn't resist exploring the dynamic between the two and how they handled these encounters when they happened as well as how their parents approach these matches. Here's the Q&A that ensued:
Q: Got a twin question for you Karolina, partially because I have twins myself, but also you and your sister recently faced each other and she came away with the victory in this most recent match. How competitive are things between you, do you have a laugh about it afterwards? How do you handle those matches and what’s it like after the fact?
Karolina Pliskova: I guess you don’t really laugh especially when you lose 7-6 in the third. So it was not really like something we would enjoy, like even the match or the moments after. But I was fine. I think it was better that I lost because I think she would be more, I mean, down (if she lost) because the match was close and it was quite long and for her it meant so much. Of course I was disappointed because on the other side everybody expected that I’m going to win like 6-1, 6-2 you know? But first of all, I never faced her for the last six years so it was kind of difficult. And then I still think she’s at a different level but unfortunately maybe she’s not able to play maybe a couple of matches in-a-row or against some players but it was possible to lose. I don’t even think I played that bad in the match and it was for sure not enjoyable and I hope it’s not going to happen forever anymore!
Q: Can your family handle watching those matches?
Karolina Pliskova: My Mom she doesn’t watch nothing – like not even if I play Serena, she doesn’t watch. And for sure not this match. My father he’s watching a lot of matches but not this match. I think it’s – why would you watch because it’s not fun.
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