Serena doesn't blame twisted ankle for loss to Pliskova

Melbourne, Jan 23 (IANS) Serena Williams said her 4-6 6-4 5-7 loss to Karolina Pliskova in a quarter-final of the Australian Open on Wednesday was because her opponent played some incredible tennis and not because she twisted her ankle in the third set.At one time, the 16th seeded Williams was on the verge of victory at 4-6, 6-4, 5-1 when the Czech trailed her before the American rolled her left ankle and then lost six straight games in a match that lasted two hours and 10 minutes, reports Efe news."I think she (Pliskova) just kinda started playing really, really good. I don't think it had anything to do with my ankle per se," said the 23-time Grand Slam winner."Karolina literally played lights out starting 5-1, 40-30. Literally I have never seen anything like it," she said.The former world No.1 said she did not make any mistakes and stayed aggressive in the game."I can't say I choked on those match points. She literally played her best tennis ever on those shots," Williams added.Williams also didn't call for medical help when she twisted her foot and stressed that her ankle "seems to be fine.""I really hate calling the trainer out, to be honest. And at that point I didn't feel like I needed it or I didn't feel like it would be a big deal. So I just kept going," Williams said.
--IANS kk/bg