Pliskova downed by Larsson after drawing Serena in Paris

Nuremberg, May 25: Kristyna Pliskova's mood at losing her Nuremberg Cup quarter-final to Johanna Larsson will hardly have improved after learning she will face Serena Williams at the French Open.

The Czech lost two service games in both the second and third sets as she fell to a 5-7 7-5 6-4 defeat in a match lasting just under two hours and 20 minutes.

Pliskova will now have to quickly turn her focus to Williams after drawing the 23-time grand slam champion in the opening round at Roland Garros.

The American will be playing at a major tournament for the first time since winning the 2017 Australian Open, having given birth to her first child last September.

Katerina Siniakova pulled double duty, the eighth seed first beating Veronica Cepede Royg before overcoming qualifier Fanny Stollar 7-5 6-4 in the last eight.

#JoLarsson 🇸🇪 is our 1st semifinalist! Jo won against @KrisPliskova 🇨🇿 5:7, 7:5, 6:4 in 2:16 hours. #nuernbergercup #wta

— NürnbergerCup (@NuernbergerCup) May 24, 2018

In the second round of the tournament, third seed Kiki Bertens rebounded from losing the opening set to defeat Mona Barthel 6-7 (2-7) 6-2 6-4, while Alison Riske battled past Yulia Putintseva in three sets.

At the Internationaux de Strasbourg, top seed Ashleigh Barty coasted to a 7-5 6-4 win over Wang Qiang to set up a last-four date with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Zarina Diyas 6-4 6-2.

Dominika Cibulkova will face fellow seed Mihaela Buzarnescu on the other side of the draw, the former seeing off Sam Stosur while the latter overcame Hsieh Su-wei.

Source: OPTA