Karolina Pliskova's quest for her first Grand Slam title is predicated on a simple philosophy.

Serve big and bring the baseline aggression.

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The WTA ace leader hit just four aces in her 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3), victory over Czech compatriot Tereza Martincova to reach the US Open second round for the third straight year.

Pliskova, who has reached the Flushing Meadows quarterfinals or better three years in a row, raised her record against fellow Czechs to 6-1 in major main-draw matches. She will play Mariam Bolkvadze next.

During two tight sets the 2016 Flushing Meadows finalist said she stayed aggressive and stuck with Plan A for a simple reason.

"Well, no plan B, no plan C for me," Pliskova said. "But anyway, still I can win matches without serve, so I still have a lot of plenty shots which I can still play.

"You know, it's not like that I don't have first serve I cannot win because there is still second serve and then there is still the rallies. But it's of course more difficult and maybe mentally a little bit more, because, you know, sometimes I'm used to getting free points from the serve. If it's not happening, then maybe I get more frustrated or whatever."

Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve