After two days of qualifying rounds the main draw is finally complete. From the qualis, in they come: from Italy Sara Errani, who surprisingly took out seed number 1 Kalinskaya and who will meet her fellow countrywoman Jasmine Paolini (with whom she teamed up to play doubles here in Stuttgart), to win the opportunity of facing Ribakina in the second round; from the US, Sachia Vickery, upsetting seed number 3 Greet Minnen; again another upset, Aliaksandra Sasnovich made it to the main draw at the expenses of seed number 4 Ocean Dodin; and finally Diana Shnainder, the only one able to impose her ranking on Sara Bejlek.
On to the main draw then. The first four seeds, Swiatek (winner in 23 and 22), Sabalenka (finalists in 23, 22 and 21), Gauff and Ribakyna all have a bye and will start in the second round.
First Round Matches
Matches to watch in the first round: the already mentioned Italian derby Paolini-Errani, the Russian derby Samsonova-Potapova and the two qualified Vickery-Sasnovich. On paper a good draw for Gauff, who will certainly face a qualified opponent in the second round. To watch also the Wild Cards derby between Raducanu and Kerber. The British have been showing some good form recently, but Kerber is the local hero and has won this tournament twice in the past (2016 and 2015). We’re likely going to have a nice battle here.
Eyes also on Ons Jabeur who was not very lucky in the draw and is facing number 16 in the world Alexandrova in the first round. Ons seems to be struggling finding her best form and this looks like a potential upset already in the first round.
Another interesting match could materialise in the second round, with Paula Badosa finally back fighting at the top with one of her best friends on tour, Aryna Sabalenka. The task doesn’t seem impossible, as Paula faces number 62 and qualified Diana Shnaider, so watch this space.
The WTA 500 Porsche Open at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart will kick off today on Monday the 15th of April and we will just have to wait and see if it’s going to be another Swiatek-Sabalenka final or an ‘outsider’ will claim the title.Â
Written by Sebastiano Sali
