It’s Ashleigh Barty vs. Karolina Pliskova in Wimbledon Final

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, left, and the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova will face off in the women’s final of Wimbledon on Saturday.Credit...Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated PressWIMBLEDON, England — Those at Centre Court got two very different tennis matches for their money on Thursday.

The first women’s semifinal, between Ashleigh Barty and Angelique Kerber, was a craft fair, full of slice and guile and often lengthy rallies. The second semifinal, between Aryna Sabalenka and Karolina Pliskova, was heavy metal: thunderous serves, big-bang returns and Sabalenka’s shrieks.

But the goal was the same for all involved, and when the last backhand was chipped and the last forehand smashed, the…