Pliskova, Carolines best in Singapore, says Molik

Alicia Molik, a former world No.8 now working as a WTA commentator, is in Singapore this week for the WTA Finals.

We caught up Molik to get her insights on who’s looking the most impressive at the season-ending championship – and who was the most likely to hoist the champion’s trophy at the weekend.

Tennismash: What do you make of the field this year in Singapore?

Alicia Molik: “I think it’s a really even playing field. I think it’s very open. I found it difficult (before the tournament) to even pick a single favourite … Elina Svitolina has the most titles, Simona Halep is the No.1, Caroline Garcia arrived in the best form.”

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Who’s impressed you most so far?

“At this point in time I’ve been impressed with Garcia and Wozniacki the most. Garcia has the form and confidence, and why I think she’ll do well now in particular is I think it was a huge mental battle for her (against Svitolina on Wednesday). She did shed a few tears, so she got over an incredible emotional hump. She was able to compose herself and still win a tennis match.

“What Wozniacki’s doing really well is mixing up her defence and offence. She loves running and she’s throwing up a lot of different, varied balls with height and that troubled Simona Halep big time. She was really rattled by the fact that Caroline had an answer for everything. She could run down every ball – and was just a fraction more patient. I can’t remember the last time I saw Halep hit so many balls into the net. I think she felt for the first time in a long time the pressure from her opponent – she had to make something happen every point. Wozniacki picked her times to be aggressive and she picked them perfectly.”

Who’s your pick for the title?

“Karolina Pliskova – she’s in red-hot form. I think those two (Wozniacki and Garcia) are a strong showing but I tell you what, Karolina Pliskova has just played really clean tennis every single match (editor’s note: we spoke before her loss to Jelena Ostapenko). She hasn’t just sustained her level, but she’s kept an incredibly high level. I think she’s focused and relaxed and enjoying her tennis, and I think part of that reason is she’s enjoying her time with Rennae Stubbs as well. She looks really single-minded and motivated on court – I felt like midway through the year she had a really flat patch and just sort of lost a lot of her spark. Even her demeanour outside of the court here in Singapore, she’s looked really content and happy. She’s been serving great. I’m really impressed with her.”

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What’s been the best match?

“I think in terms of someone playing a high quality, I have to say Woznaicki (against Halep). Because she sustained it for the entire match. She was made to work for it, but she was able to produce. And it speaks for itself against the world No.1 – I know Simona maybe wasn’t as good as she normally is – but if you’re No.1 and you don’t have a great day, it’s still a really good day in terms of you being a quality player. That really impressed me. And Venus to get over Ostapenko as well –  I felt like she was getting really frustrated with herself but she just stayed the course. Being one of the older players, you have the experience but it must be frustrating for her too when she couldn’t quite close out the match. But she stayed composed, kept fighting and chasing down balls. (That match was exceptional) just because of her resilience.”

How valuable is a player’s previous experience at this event?

“I think it helps. You’re experienced with the surface, the set up, the hotel, the city. Even another adjustment (to make) is that, every day, matches start late in the evening. So that’s a skill in itself, to be measured in your day and with your preparation and getting the right mix to be absolutely ready for your match. I think the more players have been here, they know exactly the format, how it works, what time the matches start and I think it just helps.”

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