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- Seventh seed Pliskova pushes through to Open last 16
Seventh seed Pliskova pushes through to Open last 16
Czech seventh seed Karolina Pliskova battled through to the Australian Open last 16 Saturday with a tough three-set win over Italy's Camila Giorgi.
Pliskova downed the 27th seeded Italian 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 after a 131 minute arm wrestle to set up a fourth round meeting with Spanish 18th seed Garbine Muguruza.
Former world number one Pliskova took the first set at a canter and appeared to be cruising until Giorgi lifted in the second and forced a decider.
The Czech took a decisive break early in the final set after a marathon game that went for 13 minutes and went to deuce five times.
"I had trouble sometimes but I just stayed calm even though I lost the second set. I had my chances but that's tennis," she said.
"I was very positive in the third set and I'm very happy to be through."
She has made the quarter-finals in her last two appearances at Melbourne Park and entered this year's tournament on a high after winning the Brisbane International warm-up.
The 26-year-old has been a regular in the second week of Grand Slams in recent years, reaching the quarters or better six times since late 2016, but is still searching for a breakthrough win.
She has a 7-2 winning record over two-time Grand Slam champion Muguruza, including four straight sets victories on hard courts.
But even if she gets past the Spaniard she is in a tough section of the draw that pits her against either world number one Simona Halep or 23-time major winner Serena Williams in the last eight.