Wimbledon (United Kingdom) (AFP)

One is recovering from a hip injury, the other from a slump: Ashleigh Barty and Karolina Pliskova are back at the highest level and compete on Saturday for the most coveted trophy in tennis: that of Wimbledon .

Ashleigh Barty, 25, has been the world No. 1 since June 24, 2019, but she has only one Grand Slam title to date, that of Roland-Garros 2019 which allowed her to settle, before the pandemic, at the top of the world hierarchy.

She had followed up on an elimination in the wake of the round of 16 on the grass of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and had preferred to stay in Australia and draw an end to the 2020 season, while the trying health bubbles multiplied.

She returned to the circuit this year like an arrow with three titles (Yarra Valley, Miami, Stuttgart), a final (Madrid), a quarter at the Australian Open but a retirement in the 2nd round of Roland Garros because from a painful hip.

And no match between the Major on clay and the one on grass.

Immediately, she appeared full of spirit and ambition at Wimbledon, and above all capable of playing at a very high level.

- "The body held on" -

"Knowing that my body had held with a preparation, not limited but different, and knowing that the work carried out allowed me to evolve in all capacity is an incredible feeling", she congratulated herself by assuring that there is a month she never thought she would even be able to "approach" a Wimbledon final.

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One of his secrets?

Managing to have fun on the court, whatever the stakes.

“I work so hard behind the scenes to try to live these moments, that it is very important to also enjoy them,” she said after beating 2018 winner Angelique Kerber in the semifinals.

"Whatever the result, I wanted to be able to get off the court telling myself that I had fun. Managing to raise my level of play like I did was the icing on the cake," she said. added.

If Barty does the same on Saturday, her Czech opponent Karolina Pliskova (13th) is worried.

The former world No. 1 arrived in London with an unflattering record for several months.

No turf victory this year (eliminated as soon as she entered the field in Berlin and then Eastbourne), only one final played in 2021 in Rome (clay) but lost 6-0, 6-0, not a Top 15 player beaten since Naomi Osaka (4th) in Brisbane in January 2020, and no 8th final in Grand Slam since his half in Australia in 2019 ...

- "Never imagined" -

"When I arrived at Wimbledon, my dream was to move on to the second week, because it had been a while since I had made it ... But I never imagined reaching the final!", Admitted Pliskova after having dominated the powerful Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (4th) in the semi-finals.

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Still, she said, she hadn't played so badly lately, losing most of the time to players "who went far" afterwards.

But "you have to win matches to gain confidence," she noted.

"You have to hang in there, and that's what I did. I haven't really changed much. You also need luck. In training, I played well, and then a little less in tournament. So I'm super happy to be here, "said the 29-year-old player in her second major final after the 2016 US Open.

In New York, she faced World No. 2 Kerber after beating No. 1 Serena Williams in the semi-finals.

This time, it is in the final that she will face the world No. 1 of the moment.

"It could not be better! We want to play against the best in the final," she said, despite a negative record against her future opponent.

The Australian has notably won their last three matches, but their last duel on grass had turned in favor of the Czech.

It was in 2016.

However, it will be a final on Saturday and "anything can happen," Pliskova hoped, hoping Barty too would be under pressure to play her first final at Wimbledon.

© 2021 AFP