Tennis: I can't be winning everything, says Pliskova after her singles exit

The 24-year-old felt she could have fared better had she not played in the Fed Cup tie for the Czech Republic a week before the Doha tournament

US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova couldn't carry her last week's title-winning Doha form into the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
It's obviously not an easy task to win two titles in two weeks in Doha and Dubai, the two premier tournaments in the Middle East.
Only Justine Henin and Martina Hingis - two legends of the game who share 12 Grand Slam singles titles between them - have managed to lay their hands on both the trophies in the same year.
The 24-year-old Pliskova, whose astonishing rise to the third spot in women's rankings in last six months has surprised many pundits, felt she could have fared better had she not played in the Fed Cup tie for the Czech Republic a week before the Doha tournament.
"I think I struggled here because I was playing the Fed Cup one week before Doha. So it's like three weeks of tennis for me in a row and was the third tough week, you know," the Czech star said after her 6-2 6-4 defeat to Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in the second round on Tuesday. "So I was playing the whole week in Fed Cup, and then with the matches on the weekend, and then the week in Doha. I was not really expecting to go all the way in Doha, but it happened there. That's why, maybe, it didn't come here. I can't be winning everything!"
The second seed was a shadow of the player that won the Doha title last Saturday, beating former world number one Carolina Wozniacki with remarkable ease in the final.
"I didn't feel like my tennis at all. The conditions here totally different compared to Doha. I just had one practice session yesterday (Monday). And obviously she (Mladenovic ) played well," Pliskova said. "The conditions in Dubai are definitely faster, especially with the balls together, the surface. I made even some double faults which I didn't do in Doha. So compared to Doha - it's also much warmer here. "I was also missing too much, especially the returns, especially my forehand. And obviously the serve was not as good as it was last two weeks. I was little disappointed about it."  Despite the Dubai disappointment, Pliskova will take heart from the start she has made in the new season, enjoying a 15-2 record in the first seven weeks. It's the kind of record that will give confidence to the attacking right-handed baseliner going into the hard court Masters events in Miami and Indian Wells.  "Well, it's definitely good. I don't want to be disappointed about this match, because I won so many matches already this year," Pliskova said.
"I'm just happy about it, and this was just one bad tournament, I would say. There are not a lot of things to improve, and before Indian Wells starts I have some time off for practice.
"So I am excited about the tournaments ahead. And I'm going to forget this defeat to Kristina really fast."
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com