Uneven Pliskova Battles Back to Advance to 4th Round Against Brady

And it might shape the outcome of the women’s draw.

A finalist at last year’s Open, Pliskova capitalized on that pivotal forehand to win, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, to avoid what would have been a crushing defeat.

“I didn’t have any other choice,” she said of the decision to go down the line. “I just went through it and prayed that it’s going to be in. And it was in.”

Her victory set up a fourth-round matchup against Jennifer Brady, a 22-year-old American. Brady, who earned a spot in the round of 16 this year at the Australian Open in her debut appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, defeated Monica Niculescu, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3), on a lively Court 17.

Brady joined the No. 20 seed CoCo Vandeweghe as two of four Americans on Saturday’s card to advance. Vandeweghe showed continued seasoning under her new coach, Pat Cash, to beat No. 10 Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. She will play the unseeded Lucie Safarova in the fourth round.

Shelby Rogers, from South Carolina, lost to No. 4 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 6-4, 7-5. No. 15 Madison Keys closed out a long day at the Open with 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 17 Elena Vesnina, which ended at 1:46 a.m.

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Five American women are in the round of 16, the most since 2002.

The qualifier Kaia Kanepi, ranked 418th, reached the fourth round of a major for the first time since 2014 with a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Naomi Osaka. Kanepi, 32, has missed much of the last two years with plantar fasciitis, and the Open is only her fourth tournament this season. On Monday, Kanepi will play Daria Kasatkina, who upset 12th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, 6-3, 6-2.

Brady, a former star at U.C.L.A., has never played Pliskova or faced a No. 1 player. In light of how Pliskova struggled in her second-round win against Nicole Gibbs and again on Saturday — including getting treatment for a sore right forehand — questions are emerging about the No. 1 seed’s inconsistent level of play.

“I play good shots, good rallies, and then there is hundreds of mistakes and not a good shot,” Pliskova said.

Pliskova, who lost to Angelique Kerber in the final here last year after beating Serena Williams in a semifinal, said her arm felt sore in the second set, but it improved after further treatment following the match and was not a concern.

But something was affecting her serve, normally one of her most potent weapons. She won only 57 percent of the points on her first serve, and she had no aces in the third set. That was not how she played a year ago to reach her only Grand Slam final.

“You just want to play that good again,” Pliskova said. “I don’t feel like I’m playing that good again, but I’m still in the draw, actually, so I’m not going to be that sad.”

Brady knows she is not expected to beat Pliskova, but she vowed to enjoy the experience, just as she did against Niculescu on Court 17. With most of the fans there supporting her, Brady, who was originally from Harrisburg, Pa., before her family moved to Boca Raton, Fla., said the atmosphere reminded her of a typical match at U.C.L.A., where she played for two years before turning professional in 2015.

At one point she fell to the court and just stayed there for an extended moment to recuperate from a taxing, competitive match, much like a college student’s reaction to an early-morning alarm clock.

“I was just, like, ‘I don’t want to get up and play right now,’” she said, and added: “I like it down here on the ground. I was tired, and laying there felt nice. Yeah, it was a tough match mentally and physically. I felt like in that moment I kind of just was, like, yeah.”

Brady is ranked 91st on the WTA tour, and she will need to be at her best to win — unless Pliskova is at her worst.

“On paper, I’m not supposed to win this match,” Brady said. “I’ll just go out there and compete and have fun.”

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