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| Patty Schnyder (photo by Diane Elayne Dees) |
Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Venus Williams
The 2004 champion meets the 2000 and 2001 champion, and it's anyone's guess who will prevail. It isn't that often that two champions face off, and it's really unusual for it to happen in the first round.
Caroline Garcia vs. Jo Konta
Both the 6th seed and the British number 1 have had a lot of ups and downs lately, so I don't have a clear sense of who will prevail. Konta may have a bit of an edge on a hard court, but I don't really think that will matter.
Maria Sharapova vs. Patty Schnyder
Who would have thought? At 39, Schnyder is the oldest player to successfully go through qualifying at a major in the Open Era. I remember their round of 16 match at the 2007 French Open, in which Schnyder came so very close to taking Sharapova out (Sharapova won the 3rd set tiebreak 9-7). It was a thrilling match. Sharapova has a 7-1 record against Schnyder.
Andrea Petkovic vs. Alona Ostapenko
We occasionally see flashes of a former Petko, and if Ostapenko goes on an unforced error spree, we might see get one of those flashes. Ostapenko should be a contender for the title, but her game is still too undisciplined for us to have those expectations. I wonder how long we'll have to wait.
Sam Stosur vs. Caroline Wozniacki
This first-round meeting between the 2010 champion and the two-time finalist is a veterans' special. Wozniacki, who launched somewhat of a "new" career when she won the Australian Open this year and temporarily regained her number 1 ranking, is the clear favorite. However, the Dane had to retire in the first round because of a left knee injury (just weeks before, she had sustained a right leg injury). If she's healthy, she should advance.
7 comments:
Slightly surprised the Night 1 women's match isn't Venus/Sveta but is instead Serena/Linette. But I guess not, really. Although, if you're going to talk about 16 seeds leading to unexpected 1st Round matches to highlight, a year after Halep/Sharapova, to not fully take advantage of one like that is a bit of a waste.
"Stop making sense, stop making sense..." (visualize Big Suit)
I agree, but the fact that Venus isn't 100%, threat of retirement/WO meant she wasn't getting a night match.
On the other hand, the fact that Azarenka/Kuzmova made it as the other night match over Vekic/Sevastova is a head scratcher, and I like Kuzmova.
Your point about Venus is a good one, colt, though there’s a certain appeal to having two former champions on the same court. (And I wo der if other big-name, not-100% p,ayers will be denied night matches.)
I assume Azarenka gets the night matxh because she’s a “known” quantity.
That's a really good point, Colt. Although I wonder if you're probably injecting far more logic into it than they are. They'd probably try to make sure they got Serena in primetime even if she was playing "bye." ;)
Saw on twitter you missed most of Kanepi/Halep Diane, so I'll just tell you what I saw:
Nothing much Halep could have done overall. Kanepi played at LEAST thirty points neither Halep nor anyone else could have won against her (line after line, esp. in the first set). Halep played maybe ten such points. Maybe less. The few errors she made were crucial, but that only pointed up how perfect she needed to be just to say competitive. Believe me, when my favorite player is losing and I think she could be doing something different to change the outcome I am yelling at the screen. Just sat there today. Nothing to say. Big hitter. Red hot. Too good.
Nondisposable Johnny
Oh, thanks much, Johnny. I plan to watch it later if I can. Kanepi is one of those “big stage” players who can show up at a major and take total control of a match. It’s an odd breed, the giant-killers who can’t sustain beyond knocking off top seeds at majors. A tennis oddity.
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