The 2024 Women’s Rothesay Open Nottingham continues this week as sixth seed Karolina Pliskova faces Heather Watson as Daria Saville goes up against Diane Parry.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA 250
Rothesay Open
Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre
Selected Ro16 matches – 12 June 2024
Karolina Pliskova 49/100 | Heather Watson 31/20
This should prove to be a fascinating contest between former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova and longtime British darling Heather Watson. Big-serving Czech Pliskova has been in a steady state of decline for the last few seasons.
Mobility was always her Achilles heel and age hasn’t exactly improved that. That being said, the Czech did enjoy a brief period of joy in the early portion of the season, winning her first title in four years at the Transylvania Open.
She then reached the semi-finals in Qatar before withdrawing due to a lower back issue. And she just hasn’t looked comfortable since that injury. In fact, she could only muster a 1-5 record from the start of Indian Wells to her first-round exit in Paris.
However, the Czech has enjoyed excellent past success on grass, winning three titles in her career. She won this event back in 2016 and also finished runner-up at Wimbledon as recently as 2021.
These surfaces give her serve some real mileage and help mitigate her movement issues. And she looked solid in her opener, overcoming fellow big-server Alycia Parks in straight sets.
32-year-old Heather Watson has carried British hopes for well over a decade but has never truly realised her potential. She has a strong serve and decent movement but has been hampered by a slightly one-dimensional playing style.
She tends to flatten out all her groundstrokes and seldom changes her rhythm. Still, she did enjoy her career-best Grand Slam performance at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, reaching the fourth round in a solid showcase of her potential.
But she has largely struggled at WTA-Tour level and has only qualified for one of the last seven Slams. However, she did shine in Nottingham last season, reaching her first WTA Tour semi-final since 2021.
She just showed gumption to come back from a set down against Kayla Day and she knows that a victory over Pliskova- regardless of the Czech’s current form – could be the springboard for a successful grass-court campaign.
The Verdict: Watson to win in three sets 48/10
Watson leads the head-to-head 1-0, beating Pliskova in straight sets in Prague ten years ago. I don’t see why Watson can’t cause an upset here.
She played great tennis in Nottingham last season and Pliskova has been in pretty dreadful recent form. Watson must manoeuvre Pliskova from pillar to post and look to be aggressive on second-serve opportunities.
This could be a chance for Watson to accumulate some precious ranking points in what has been a terribly disappointing campaign.
Daria Saville 99/100 | Diane Parry 8/10
Daira Saville pulled off the shock of the tournament thus far, rolling back the years to take out fourth seed Clara Burel in straight sets. It was a composed performance from a veteran who has never really played her best tennis on grass.
The match was a cagey affair, with both players naturally disposed to defensive rigidity. But Saville was the one who adapted more successfully, approaching the net on numerous occasions and utilising her backhand slice to great effect.
She was approaching 70% on that first-serve and just seemed to have the edge on Burel. Saville suffered a really bad ACL injury towards the end of 2022, returning to action at last year’s Wimbledon Championships.
That turned out to be quite the memorable comeback (though not for positive reasons). Playing Katie Boulter in the first round, Saville was leading 4-2 in the first-set tiebreak before a protester ran out and threw puzzle pieces and confetti on court.
The disruption affected Saville and she would go on to lose the match. She has picked up a few decent results this season, reaching the semis in Hobart and the quarters in San Diego. But it has been a grind either side of those results and a solid week in Nottingham will do wonders for her confidence.
Next up for Saville is another Frenchwoman: Diane Parry. The 21-year-old Parry has enjoyed some really notable results this campaign, reaching the third round of the Aussie Open before a final 16 finish in her maiden WTA 1000 outing at Indian Wells.
I thought that the former Junior World No.1 would fare a little better during the clay-court swing. But she did look confident in her first grass-court outing of the season, easing past Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-2.
Though nominally a clay-court specialist, Parry has the tools at her disposal to play well on grass. She slices most of her backhands and she possesses a strong serve. She also doesn’t mind coming to the net to finish off her opponent.
The Verdict: Parry to win in straight sets 33/20
This will be their first career meeting. I think that the Frenchwoman has what it takes to win this encounter quite easily. Saville isn’t anywhere near the player she was at the peak of her powers and her game isn’t ideally suited to these conditions.
Parry looked really comfortable against Bucsa, attacking the net consistently and using that backhand slice to brilliant effect. I think Parry should take this in straight sets, getting some Gallic revenge for compatriot Clara Burel.
