Petra Kvitova praises fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova, saying the 22-year-old has reached a "great level" in a breakthrough season. The two played each other in the Sydney final, which Kvitova won 7-6, 7-6. Pliskova then went on to reach the third round of the Australian Open, the semifinals of Antwerp, and last week the final of Dubai, which she lost to Simona Halep. Pliskova also won two Fed Cup matches against Canada.
Pliskova was beaten in the round of 16 at the Qatar Open by Carla Suarez Navarro, preventing a quarterfinal match with Kvitova.
Pliskova has beaten the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, Lucie Safarova, and Ana Ivanovic, and is currently ranked No. 13.
"She has incredible year this year from the beginning," said Kvitova, who beat Jelena Jankovic when the Serb retired at the Qatar Open. "We play the final in Sydney, so I know how great she's playing. She had great season last year when she won some titles. She just showed how good she can be as a player when she was in the final in Dubai. Of course I think that's she playing a lot of matches in a couple weeks, so I think that she's going to be a little bit tired."