Australian Open conquerer channels Serena with unthinkable meltdown

One month after stunning Serena Williams from 5-1 down in the third set at the Australian Open, Karolina Pliskova has suffered the exact same meltdown.

Su-wei Hsieh of Taiwan came from 5-1 down in the final set to beat fourth-seeded Karolina Pliskova 6-4 1-6 7-5 in Dubai on Thursday.

It was the latest upset for Hsieh, who ousted Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber on Wednesday.

“I felt I had to apologise to Pliskova because I was crying and screaming so much,” said the 33-year-old after reaching her first premier-level tour semi-final.

“It was not easy to come back. I say to myself, ‘Okay, if she (does) not ace me, I hit the ball so much harder than before, then she cannot hit a winner.'”

Hsieh fired a backhand down the line to earn the break that saw her claim the first set lead over the Australian Open semi-finalist.

Pliskova, who missed nine chances to break her opponent, roared back in the second set to level the match without facing a single break point.

The 26-year-old surged to a match-winning position at 5-1 but the Czech’s errors piled up allowing Hsieh to break back twice for 5-5, and a wild backhand from Pliskova at 6-5, confirmed Hsieh’s triumph.

Bencic sends Halep packing

Meanwhile, unseeded Belinda Bencic rallied to beat second-ranked Simona Halep 4-6 6-4 6-2 to reach the semi-finals.

Bencic, who saved six match points in the previous round against Aryna Sabalenka, failed to capitalise on an early break in the first set but Halep continued to struggle with her serve and was broken seven times in total.

Bencic broke for a 5-4 lead in the second and then raced out to a 3-0 lead in the decider, having won six games in a row.

Halep, who was playing her ninth match in 13 days after reaching the final in Qatar last week, got one break back but Bencic broke again for a 5-2 lead before converting her third match point.

“It was really difficult physically,” Halep said.

“I was tired. After the second set, I felt like I’m getting cramping a little bit. It’s normal. I was sweating a lot. She played very well. In the end, she was a little bit stronger.”

Second-seeded Petra Kvitova few problems in winning the last eight games to oust Viktoria Kuzmova 6-4 6-0 to book her spot in the last four.

Kvitova, the 2013 Dubai champion, needed just 62 minutes to wrap up the win.

with AAP