WTA 500 Stuttgart 4/17 - 4/23 2023

[ponchi101]

Sabalenka is not off. She has had a very good first quarter. But, other than Madrid, which she has won before, her record at RG is not that great.
It is just that it is not her surface. If she goes on and wins something big, other than Madrid, I will not be surprised.
Looking at winners. Least accomplished player to win something bit in the last half a year is Samsonova, and I will grant you she is ranked 15th. So, lately, mademoiselle Other has indeed been dormant.

[Deuce]

Leylah reached the quarter final of Roland Garros last year - and only lost to Trevisan in that match because she was playing with a stress fracture in her foot (which sidelined her for 2 months after Roland Garros).
She also won the Roland Garros Junior tournament in 2019, and lost in the semis there to Gauff in 2018.

[ashkor87]

agree Rybakina doesnt seem to move well on clay, but I am encoyraged when I remember Sharapova - the self-described 'cow on ice' - she did somehow figure it out and went on to win not one, but two FOs after... I think she said she decided to just pick up her feet and run, not even try to slide and whatnot - that seemed to work for her.

[ashkor87]

Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).

i have been warned not to criticize Coco - there is a law against it, apparently.. so I will say only this - she had a very good draw at RG last year.. indeed, when I saw the draw, I said she is going to the semis (didnt expect Trevisan to be her semi opponent, so didnt say finals!) - you can check if you like on last year's forum.

[ashkor87]

On Rybskina- yes, flat shots without much spin, doesn't move well on clay...then I remembered Sharapova,,!!

[ponchi101]

That is a good analogy. I can buy it.

[ti-amie]

UPDATED MD Singles

F Swiatek, Iga Poland POL 1
2 F Sabalenka, Aryna 2
3 F Garcia, Caroline France FRA 4
4 F Jabeur, Ons Tunisia TUN 5
5 F Gauff, Coco USA USA 6
6 F Rybakina, Elena Kazakhstan KAZ 7
7 F Kasatkina, Daria 8
8 F Sakkari, Maria Greece GRE 9
9 F Kudermetova, Veronika 13
10 F Kvitova, Petra Czech Republic CZE 10
11 F Krejcikova, Barbora Czech Republic CZE 12
12 F Haddad Maia, Beatriz Brazil BRA 14
13 F Samsonova, Liudmila 15
14 F Pliskova, Karolina Czech Republic CZE 16
15 F Alexandrova, Ekaterina 17
16 F Vekic, Donna Croatia CRO 23
17 F Ostapenko, Jelena Latvia LAT 21
18 F Zheng, Qinwen China CHN 24
19 F Trevisan, Martina Italy ITA 20
20 F Potapova, Anastasia 24
21 W Raducanu, Emma Great Britain GBR 68
22 W Maria, Tatjana Germany GER 66
23 W Niemeier, Jule Germany GER 65
24 W Badosa, Paula Spain ESP 31

F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card


https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players

[ti-amie]

Qualifying Draw

Nr. Name Land Rang

1 BERNARDA PERA USA 37
2 PETRA MARTIC CRO 41
3 LINDA FRUHVIRTOVA CZE 50
4 ALYCIA PARKS USA 56
5 ANNA KALINSKAYA - 64
6 KATIE VOLYNETS USA 77
7 LESIA TSURENKO UKR 81
8 CRISTINA BUCSA ESP 82
9 TAMARA KORPATSCH GER 106
10 ANNA-LENA FRIEDSAM GER 98
11 LAURA PIGOSSIBRA 102
12 ARANTXA RUS NED 110
13 KIMBERLY BIRRELL AUS 111
14 TEREZA MARTINCOVA CZE 113
WC NOMA NOHA AKUGE GER 210
WC SABINE LISICKI GER 305

F = Full Member
Q = Qualifier
W = Wild Card

https://www.porsche-tennis.com/prod/pag ... nt_players

[ashkor87]

Sabalenka is not off. She has had a very good first quarter. But, other than Madrid, which she has won before, her record at RG is not that great.
It is just that it is not her surface. If she goes on and wins something big, other than Madrid, I will not be surprised.
Looking at winners. Least accomplished player to win something bit in the last half a year is Samsonova, and I will grant you she is ranked 15th. So, lately, mademoiselle Other has indeed been dormant.

Sabalenka is better than we think, on clay .she was beaten in Rome and Stuttgart only by Swiatek,. Once in the finals, once in the semis...bad loss at the RG, but it was Giorgi! So yes, I expect her to be a force. More than record, which is all about the past, her game is good for clay..power...her movement is not great but it doesn't need to be, on clay ..

[Owendonovan]

Swiatek? A given. No refutation there, with only one caveat: last player to defend a slam title was Serena at Wimby ('15-'16). So, sure, she will be the favorite. But not at 75%.
Sabalenka. 3 times R32 at RG. That is her best showing. But she has won Madrid, at that altitude (ha!) of 600 mts. Sincerely, don't see her doing much.
Ons. Sure, why not? She likes the surface, and seems to be back after yesterday's win.
Samsonova. You have your soft spot for her.
Krejcikova. I say she will be the second best player of the season.
Rybakina? See you on grass, my dear.
Bencic? Nah, she will do fine, and will be a force in the smaller 500's.
Coco. She is the RG RU from last year. She will do better than you expect. Repeating that final will be tough.
Dark horse. Mademoiselle OTHER. Get ready for some unknown players winning something big (not a 1000).

i have been warned not to criticize Coco - there is a law against it, apparently.. so I will say only this - she had a very good draw at RG last year.. indeed, when I saw the draw, I said she is going to the semis (didnt expect Trevisan to be her semi opponent, so didnt say finals!) - you can check if you like on last year's forum.

I think the Americans, both the men and the women, are solid QF and SF players at the big tournaments. I don't see any American having the game/weapons to take a GS, and only an occasional 1000.

[ponchi101]

I saw the ATP show yesterday. A few of the top guys (Stefanos and Zverev, to name two) were saying "watch out for Tommy Paul at RG. He likes the stuff, and he is good on it".
It surprised me, but those two should know a bit.

[Owendonovan]

I'd love to see him make a strong run on clay this season. I've pretty much discounted any American man on clay since Agassi.

[ashkor87]

Well, Tommy volleys ..that is always effective on clay...

[ti-amie]

Qualifying Draw

P. Martic (1) vs N. Abduraimova
S. Lisicki vs K. Birrell (7)

A. Parks (2) vs A. Konjuh
K. Von Deichmann vs T. Korpatsch (6)

L. Fruhvirtova (3) vs E. Seidel
M. Barthel vs Y. In-Albon (8)

K. Volynets (4) vs D. Yastremska
N. Noha Akugue vs C. Bucsa (5)

[ashkor87]

Good test for Swiatek, to see if she is recovered .she should win. I know folks here think winning anything two in a row is difficult but that is not true After having won one! Depends on the prior...defending champion should be more comfortable, more confident...