Serena Williams will find it "super difficult" to challenge for an eighth Wimbledon singles title when she returns to SW19 next week, according to Karolina Pliskova.
Williams announced her participation at Wimbledon after receiving a wildcard last week, having been absent since a first-round retirement against Aliaksandra Sasnovich at The All England Club last year.
The American great will team up with Ons Jabeur to play doubles at Eastbourne over the coming days as the 40-year-old prepares for her Wimbledon return.
But Pliskova, who lost last year's Wimbledon final to Ashleigh Barty, says Williams could struggle to match her previous exploits after coming back from a long-term leg injury.
"I don't know how long it has been since she has played. Has it been a year? It is a long time, and she is not the youngest any more, so I suppose the body also takes some time to get back into shape," Pliskova said ahead of her own campaign at Eastbourne.
"Playing matches at tournaments is still very different to just practising and from what I understand, she is not playing [singles] here, she is just playing doubles.
"I think it will be difficult, super difficult for her, no matter what kind of player she is because this is a thing where you still need some time.
"But of course, she is an amazing player, she achieved so much and still a number of players will be super scared to play her. This is her advantage but let's see the level. I cannot really say."
Pliskova has won two of her three grand slam meetings with Williams, eliminating her at the quarter-final stage at the 2019 Australian Open and in the final four at the 2016 US Open.
While the world number seven may have cast doubt upon Williams' chances, Paula Badosa is not keen on the prospect of facing the 23-time major champion on the grass.
"I think it surprised everyone but it's very good to have her back. It really amazes me how she has all this hunger for the game," the world number four said.
"It is a great inspiration. It is nice to have her back and I hope she can be back for much more time because I think she does very good for tennis.
"But the other side, of course I don't want to play against her! I hope the draw goes for another player because no one wants to play against Serena and [even] less on grass. Let's pray for that!"
Swiatek seals Italian Open hat-trick after soaring past Sabalenka
Iga Swiatek stormed to her third Italian Open title following a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
The world number one took just under an hour-and-a-half to deny the world number two, and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in Rome.
The pair were contesting a second final in as many events, with Swiatek saving three championship points before eventually prevailing in the Madrid Open showpiece a fortnight ago.
However, it was one-way traffic this time around. The Pole converted two out of three break points as she controlled the opening set.
Sabalenka was the last player to deny Swiatek in a WTA final, that coming at last year's Madrid Open.
Although, the second seed was helpless as her opponent broke again in game seven of the second set, before wrapping up a fourth title of the season ahead of the French Open later this month.
Data debrief
Landing her third Italian Open title before turning 23, Swiatek is only the second player to achieve that feat after Gabriela Sabatini.
In fact, at 22 years and 352 days old, she is the youngest player to win 10 WTA 1000 titles since the introduction of the format in 2009.
The Pole also became the third player to triumph in Madrid and Rome during the same season, after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013).
Jarry defeats Paul to set up Zverev showdown in Italian Open final
Nicolas Jarry defeated Tommy Paul in three sets on Friday to set up a showdown with Alexander Zverev in the Italian Open final.
The men's world number 24 prevailed 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 in a little under three hours in Rome to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.
Jarry earned the only break of serve in the eighth game of the opening set, but Paul - who dropped just one set in four matches en route to this stage - hit back in the second.
Birthday boy Paul lost serve to trail 4-2 at one stage, but he produced one of the shots of the tournament at the ideal moment and soon dragged it back to 4-4.
A gruelling set concluded with Paul taking the tie-break 7-3, but Jarry was unperturbed and won the deciding set with his fifth match point to see off Paul in a gruelling contest.
Data Debrief:
Jarry is the third male Chilean in the Open Era to reach the singles final of the Italian Open after Marcelo Rios (1997-98) and Fernando Gonzalez (2007).
The 28-year-old registered 13 aces against Paul to his opponent's seven and hit 35 winners to 19 in a deserved victory.
Zverev ends Tabilo's dream run to reach Italian Open final
Alexander Zverev fought back from the brink to reach the Italian Open final on Friday, overcoming Alejandro Tabilo by a 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 scoreline in the last four.
Zverev was punished for a slow start as Tabilo took the opener within 32 minutes, but the German fought back in a one-hour, 15-minute slog of a second set.
The 2017 Italian Open champion put his foot down from 3-3 in the second-set tie-break, with Tabilo potentially feeling the effects of a fine run that included a last-32 upset of Novak Djokovic.
Zverev upped the intensity in the final set and won a huge 94 per cent of points behind his first serve as his opponent wilted, the third seed reaching the Rome final for a third time.
Data Debrief: Zverev draws level with Becker
Zverev will now face either Nicolas Jarry or Tommy Paul in Sunday's final, which will be his 11th at ATP 1000 Masters level.
That tally pulls him level with Boris Becker for most such finals by a German player since the format's 1990 introduction.
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