Dinu has some reasonable pedigree too. Not amazing, but I don't think it was ever going to be a blowout.

I was only watching the live score for the first set and a half, but I got the impression that she had problems with her own game for the first two service games but dominated after that. I haven't looked at the final match stats yet but she was winning virtually every point that she got her first serve in when I left it.

Yes, an excellent 1 & 0 win, the late night obviously did her good!

In the SFs, she plays Krystina Pliskova (CZE), who is 17 and knocked out top seed Timea Babos today 7-5 in the 3rd.

Krystina's WTA ranking is 475 cf. Laura's 404. She has been playing senior events since 2006 (which is probably why she has never been in the junior top 300!), reaching a 10K Final and a 25K semi in that time. She hasn't had the WCs that Laura has had, of course, but has been able to play a lot more senior events in the last year because she is older.

Pliskova has a twin sister Karolina who has reached the semis here as well (that's why there are two K Pliskovas in the draw) and is WTA ranked as high as 222 in singles. Clearly confused by this, the pdf draw shows Krystina and Karolina both as the no. 6 seed, but it's actually Karolina who is, Laura's opponent is a qualifier.

If one of the Pliskovas wins and the other doesn't, their opponent in the Final is going to have a bit of a deja vu moment ... if they both get through, I pity the umpire!

-- Edited by steven on Thursday 28th of January 2010 06:33:29 AM

Well done Laura, looking good. I checked her score first thing this morning but was too busy getting sorted so I could watch Andy's match to come on here.

RBBOT wrote:

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Anyone know if the twins are identical? That could lead to some interesting challenges when the play doubles!

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From: http://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/tale-of-the-tape--just-pick-your-colour-20100128-n1su.html

Another sister act

KRYSTINA and Karolina Pliskova - twin sisters from the Czech Republic - will play against each other for the first time in a real, proper, really serious tennis match should they both win their junior semi-finals today. Karolina, the sixth seed, who lost in the second round of qualifying for the main draw, had a straight-sets win over Russian third seed Daria Gavrilova, while Krystina survived a match point to upset top-seeded Timea Babos to earn a clash with Brit Laura Robson. Krystina, who has blonde hair, plays left-handed and has a tattoo near her wrist, while the dark-haired Karolina is right-handed and is tattooed further up her arm. The 17-year-olds were on court at the same time yesterday, and could both see the scoreboard on the other's court, which made their own task somewhat trickier. ''It's not great to look up and your sister is down 3-0,'' said Karolina. ''But you have to look; it's my sister.'' Although the pair have never met in a serious match, they have taken each other on plenty of times on the practice courts (the lesser-ranked Karolina winning most times, especially when they were younger. ''She would always smile at me, distract me,'' Karolina said) and won't alter their pre-match routine should both make it through to the final. ''We'll practise together, have breakfast together '' said Karolina. ''Just one more match,'' added Krystina, ''and it will be good.''

I'm not sure whether this means they are identical but one has dyed her hair or that they aren't.

I think the height difference could be a red herring - they look (close to) identical to me:

http://www.pragueopen.cz/2008/pix/A_NO3O5090.jpg
http://www.pragueopen.cz/2008/pix/A_NO3O5099.jpg

Karolina (the higher-ranked one who is not in Laura's half of the draw) has won two 25K, one on clay (beating Zahlavova in the semis and Schruff in the Final) and one on carpet and she beat Georgie Stoop 5 & 3 in Walton Beach last year. Her biggest success so far though was eating Molik and Kanepi to reach the QFs of Prague WTA after getting a WC - she eventually lost to Azarenka 2 & 1. They are (or were?) known for their inconsistency though - Yasmin Clarke took a set off her a few weeks later!

"Her biggest success so far though was eating Molik and Kanepi "

I take it Molik was the starter?