This is the typical “the calm before the storm”. Held just one week before Roland Garros, the #InternationauxdeStrasbourg always welcomed a dynamic list of players — those who need to get the momentum going before entering a Major, those desperately needing to gain some form, those who are trying to rack up ranking points, and the list goes on.
The tournament suffered a hit when defending champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and top-10 player Sloane Stephens announced their withdrawals from the tournament, but it will still host a week of world-class tennis with top seed Ashleigh Barty headlining the draw.
First Quarter: Can Barty manoeuvre her way through the draw?
[1] Barty vs Gavrilova
[WC] Hesse vs Wang Y.F
Q vs Schmiedlova
Paquet vs [5] Kenin
Top seed #AshleighBarty returns to Strasbourg once more, following her semifinal finish last year. Being forced to retire in the last four, Barty will look to go one step further this time especially after receiving a favourable draw. She will face compatriot #DariaGavrilova in an all-Aussie opening round clash, having defeated her in Madrid as well.
One notable name is this section would be the unseeded #WangYafan, who has improved so much this year after winning her maiden WTA title in Acapulco. She opens her campaign against local wildcard #AmandineHesse and could face Barty in the second round. However, she has not been performing well on clay.
#AnnaKarolinaSchmiedlova, whose form is extremely inconsistent, faces a qualifier in the opening round which could provide her with the confidence she needs. There is a possible rematch of the Hobart final in the second round, only if fifth seed #SofiaKenin manages to conquer the tricky challenge from #ChloePaquet in the first round.
Barty should be able to ease through this quarter, despite the seemingly difficult task of outlasting Kenin on the slow clay. The Australian had only lost five matches this year (twice to Petra Kvitova, once to Elina Svitolina, Simona Halep, and Kristina Mladenovic) and is a force to be reckoned with this week.
Prediction: Barty d. Kenin
Second Quarter: Can home favourite Garcia pounce on her chances?
[4] Garcia vs [PR] Rogers
Linette vs Peterson
Q vs Q
[WC] Tan vs [7] Zheng
Fourth seed #CarolineGarcia has a tough opener, but if she were to survive the challenge, she will surprisingly have it easy in the following rounds. She was drawn to face the resurgent #ShelbyRogers, who recently returned from a lengthy injury lay-off, and with the American holding a match point against Ostapenko in Charleston earlier this year, she will pose some danger.
#MagdaLinette and #RebeccaPeterson will battle it out as well, with Linette currently on a four-match losing streak and the winner getting a chance to face Garcia or Rogers. Wildcard #HaromyTan will face seventh seed #ZhengSaisai, who had already won a clay title this year at the WTA 125k event in Anning. Zheng is the favourite in that encounter and will face a qualifier in the second round.
Garcia is definitely the overwhelming favourite if she were to get past the first round. Rogers is the name to keep a lookout for here, if she can display some of her magic which allowed her to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open once again, a win against Garcia should not be a huge issue.
Prediction: Rogers d. Zheng
Third Quarter: Who will emerge from this interesting section?
[6] Yastremska vs Parmentier
Pegula vs Stosur
Ferro vs Kumkhum
Brady vs [3] Wang Q
Sixth seed #DayanaYastremska will face home favourite #PaulineParmentier, and it might just be yet another early exit for the Ukrainian youngster while she looks to end a four-match losing streak. Plagued by a series of tough draws, Parmentier is another tough nut to crack and definitely has the abilities to pull off the upset on clay.
Being the one and only Grand Slam champion in the draw, #SamanthaStosur comes into the tournament unseeded and looming although she faces #JessicaPegula in the opener, a player whom she had lost to previously.
#LuksikaKumkhum plays her first WTA tournament outside the Majors since the start of February. She faces #FionaFerro in the opening round, and the Frenchwoman would fancy her chances considering the Thai have never won a main draw match on clay throughout her entire career.
#WangQiang, who is on a three-match losing streak, is in desperate need for some momentum ahead of Roland Garros and was handed the hard-hitting #JenniferBrady as her first opponent. Wang should have no troubles surviving this quarter unless Yastremska finds her form all of a sudden.
Prediction: Wang d. Yastremska
Fourth Quarter: Can Sabalenka find her form?
[8] Zhang S vs Q
Puig vs Maria
Q vs Q
Zhu vs [2/WC] Sabalenka
#ZhangShuai, the eighth seed, is another player looking for form through this tournament as she has also lost her last three matches despite reaching the final of the WTA 125k event in Anning as well. The dangerous #MonicaPuig will battle against #TatjanaMaria, who was double-bagelled by eventual champion Pavlyuchenkova here last year.
Puig will be the favourite to mount a deep run, although she herself also experienced some struggles on this tricky surface this year. Second seed #ArynaSabalenka was a late entry into the draw as she failed to gather any momentum through her previous matches, having not reached a quarterfinal since February.
It has been a tough period for Sabalenka, who lost against Puig, Kuznetsova, and Cornet in straight sets, resulting in her fall out of the top-10 on the latest rankings released on Monday. She, however, opens her Strasbourg campaign against #ZhuLin, who is not proficient on clay either. This will be a good opportunity for Sabalenka to rattle off some wins, although I think Puig will be there to stop her in the quarterfinals once again.
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