WTA week of 4/18; Stuttgart 500 & Istanbul 250

[spystud]

More red clay action. Both tourneys begin Monday.

Stuttgart is a 28-player field, Iga/Badosa/Sabalenka/Sakkari get R1 byes.

Bianca is back for now.

Karolina v. Petra & Kontaveit v. Angie aren't your usual R1 matchups.

Draw pdf


Istanbul draw

Mertens/Cirstea/Kudermetova/Kalinina are top 4.

 

[spystud]

Zhang v. Alexandrova & Samsonova v. Paquet are the two singles matches Monday in Germany.

 

[James P]

A 16 year old, Nikola Bartunkova, was given a wild card into Istanbul.

 

[MiamiWeekendWarrior]

Zhang v. Alexandrova & Samsonova v. Paquet are the two singles matches Monday in Germany.

Well that was thrilling..... double bagel.

 

[spystud]

And the other match went to Alexandrova in two breakers.

 

[MiamiWeekendWarrior]

And the other match went to Alexandrova in two breakers.

I missed that one. Was it after the double bagel match? If it was, that explains why I missed it.... the Samsonova match finally fixed my chronic insomnia.

 

[spystud]

Before, I missed them both.

 

[spystud]

And Paolini v. Giorgi second on Court 1.

 

[D-Lite]

And Paolini v. Giorgi second on Court 1.

Jabeur v Vondrousova, and Gauff v Kasatkina are brutal R1 matches. This is why I love the Stuttgart tournament. Also it'll be interesting to see how Andreescu fairs. I'm just listening to 'The Tennis Podcast' on Spotify, and she was interviewing for this episode, so it'll be interesting to have an update from her - really hope she can play the rest of the season injury free.

 

[spystud]

Sorana is playing right now in Istanbul, but TC is showing a boring men’s rerun. Great job.

 

[spystud]

Well, she won easily anyway.

 

[volleyandfun]

Emma was no show for her practice session, is she out?

 

[spystud]

Plenty of good seats still available.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1516338875035107328

 

[James P]

#342 in the world, Eva Lys, knocks off #38 in the world, Viktorija Golubic

 

[ScottleeSV]

Emma was no show for her practice session, is she out?

That would be a shame if so. The draw has opened up for her. Just Sanders and Korpatsch in front of her to reach a first Q/F at WTA Premier level. Then a schooling at the hands of Swiatek (but it would be very useful for experience)

 

[spystud]

Niemeier up 5-3 on Bianca.

 

[Mark-Touch]

Andreescu as rusty as the red clay she's playing on!

 

[spystud]

Breaker time.

 

[Mark-Touch]

The Germans are so innovative!
A cushioned kneel box for the ball kids.

 

[spystud]

Bianca finally takes the set.

 

[ttwreader]

Bianca takes 1st set. Hopefully she plays better in the 2nd.

 

[Mark-Touch]

Bianca finally takes the set.

Like it ever was in doubt.

 

[spystud]

Second set was pretty easy.

 

[spystud]

Gauff v. DasKa now.

 

[volleyandfun]

Coco was up 4:0 and lost the set, what a mess. Her f/h as usual lets her down.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Coco was up 4:0 and lost the set, what a mess. Her f/h as usual lets her down.

At the WTA even a 4-0 blowout might lead to quick defeat.

So schizo.

 

[UnderratedSlam]

Coco just shot a BH about 5 METERS WIDE.

Completely unforced, had an easy shot there.

Is this a tennis first on the pro level? Would she have played this BH better with her hands tied?

It might take 100 years for another top pro to miss an easy shot this bombastically.

 

[spystud]

DasKa whooped her, 4 & 2.

 

[AM75]

Future GOAT Coco can't even get past out of form Kasatkina, wow.

 

[coolcamden]

It’s sad how the US tennis media people ALL stoked Coco Gauff, like she’s a GOAT! At IW this year, 1 of the Bryan brothers said she would win the tournament, without any thoughts or real consideration. She has a lot of work to be top level. Whether she’s been working on them is uncertain, as she hasn’t demonstrated any improvement in the last almost 2 years.

 

[Fintft]

Andreescu as rusty as the red clay she's playing on!

Except her BH which was stellar and her touch shots

 

[spystud]

Wednesday's OoP.

Kvitova v. Ka. Pliskova
Swiatek v. Lys
Sanders v. Raducanu
Kontaveit v. Kerber
Siegemund v. Zidansek

 

[ttwreader]

Swiatek vs Lys is in play. Swiatek takes the 1st set 6-1.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Swiatek on clay so far.. 35 games won, just 2 lost

 

[ttwreader]

Iga won the match 1&1.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Now dropped to 36-3. Terrible, Iga

 

[ttwreader]

Now dropped to 36-3. Terrible, Iga

She could have fed Eva a bagel the second set but Eva was redline and broke her serving for the match game.

 

[ScottleeSV]

Not a bad draw for a WTA premier is it? Bye Rd 1, then this German newbie, then a quarter final against (at best) a Raducanu who has no clay pedigree.

Won't see Iga tested until the semis.

 

[ttwreader]

1st set Emma, 6-1.

 

[ttwreader]

Emma won her first tour level clay court match: 1 & 2.

 

[D-Lite]

Emma won her first tour level clay court match: 1 & 2.

I'm really pleased she's had 3 singles matches in the past week, and whether she loses in R2 or the QF, at least she's getting matches in, particularly in advance of the 1000 events and RG. I'll have to catch some highlights later as I'm intrigued to see how she plays on indoor clay.

 

[ScottleeSV]

That was a decent performance from Emma. Can't say Sanders offered much but you can only do what you can do.

If Emma can at least win the next match and then lose to Swiatek, that would make it a really valuable tournament (for points, confidence, and experience). Got to take advantage of good draws when you get them.

 

[spystud]

Anett beats Angie, 6-4 in the third.

 

[spystud]

Won't see a kit like Rus is wearing often.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1516856298926575618

 

[Harry_Wild]

Looks like pressure is on Emma Raducanu to win her 1st round match now against an Australian player name Storm Sanders. Emma has been getting byes and loosing in the 2nd round matches!

 

[spystud]

Bro, she won easily hours ago.

Read the thread for once.

 

[ttwreader]

Emma looked relaxed today. Played freely and won easily. Hopefully she will keep going that way.

 

[spystud]

Siegemund wins on home soil to end the day.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Bro, she won easily hours ago.

Read the thread for once.

 

[NaomiKonjuhPotapova]

Curious on who would beat Swiatek. Sakkari? She has solved Sakkari problem on HC tho beating her twice.