Prolific Karolina Pliskova prevails at Prague Open

Karolina Pliskova became the most prolific player on the WTA Tour this season with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Yanina Wickmayer, sending her into the Prague Open final.

Pliskova was tied with Simona Halep on 26 wins for the current campaign heading into Friday's semi-final in the Czech capital, but brought up her 27th triumph to seal a ninth final appearance on the tour.

Having wrapped up the first set, top seed Pliskova had a battle on her hands in the second, falling 3-1 behind before rattling off four games on the bounce.

Wickmayer brought the scores back to 5-5, but Pliskova produced one final break of serve to confirm victory, ending the match with her 11th ace.

"I'm still not happy with the way I'm playing here, but on the other hand I'm never happy," she was quoted as saying on the WTA's official website. "At least I didn't have a big gap in concentration like in my last matches, and I'm happy I can save some energy for the final.

"It's great [to pick up a 27th win]. I had an amazing first three months - I was playing really well.

"The clay season has started prety well, so I'm just happy with the way I'm doing, and I want to keep winning."

Pliskova will now meet fellow Czech Lucie Hradecka in Saturday's final, after the qualifier saw off Katerina Siniakova 6-2 4-6 6-4.

Hradecka is no stranger to all-Czech clashes, having eliminated compatriots at every stage apart from the first round, but her 0-6 record in WTA finals will need addressing if she is to sample glory this time around.