Top seed Karolina Pliskova eased passed Petra Martic 6-3, 6-2 to become the first winner of the Zhengzhou Open in China on Sunday. It is the Czech's 4th title of the season after wins at Brisbane, Rome, and Eastbourne.

The emphatic victory helped cement her place as world number two as the season continues its final stretch in Asia.

In a special tennis series, Beyond the Baseline, the Czech sat down with CGTN Sports Scene's Mike Fox for an exclusive interview a few days before winning in Zhengzhou.

"I came from New York on Monday so there was not much time to rest and also to get some practice. But I think I just tried to do everything possible to get ready for this tournament and I practiced very briefly," she said. "I had a couple of days before the start of my first match on Wednesday, which helped me, of course. I just wanted to play the best here."

Winning one of the Grand Slam events remains an elusive dream for Pliskova.

"For sure, I didn't play the best in last two Grand Slams and at Wimbledon I was a bit unlucky as well as I was so close to win that match. The U.S. Open also was very close but that was a much better match for me than Wimbledon. Of course, the Australian Open was my best among all the Grand Slams this year and beating Serena is always special. It's going to stay in my memory forever. It doesn't matter even though I didn't win that Grand Slam. There is going to be another chance next year. So let's see how I will do," she said.

While setting her eyes on the end-of-season WTA Shenzhen Finals, Pliskova added, "I think the best in my life to date is my ranking of world number two and that's incredible. Of course, the season hasn't stopped yet. There are plenty of big tournaments and there is also Shenzhen Finals, if I am lucky to get in. That’s going to be my goal for the end of this season and play well here in Asia. Since everybody is a little bit tired I want to push a bit to do well."

(Cover image from VCG)