The Western & Southern Open final will be the seventh career meeting between Angelique Kerber and Karolina Pliskova, who both eliminated their semifinal opponents in straight sets on Saturday.
The first to make the title match was the 15th-seeded Pliskova, as the Czech dominated fourth seed Garbine Muguruza, not at all being intimidated by the Spaniard's Roland Garros triumph. Reaching an impressive, WTA-leading number of 400 aces this season, Pliskova recorded a 6-1 6-3 victory and showed absolute confidence in her post-match interview:
I know I beat [Muguruza] in the last two matches, so I knew it's going to be tough for her to beat me if I play well or if I play solid.