![]() ![]() ![]() Rome has slower conditions, though, that could hinder her, and the Kiki Bertens second round draw is brutal. It is usually a surface she struggles on, but a title win in Stuttgart followed by a semi final in Madrid has shown her improvements on the surface. Karolina Pliskova has been a revelation on clay this season. The Russian’s draw is quite a nice one so she could await Svitolina in the round of 16. Lesia Tsurenko and Petra Martic are dangerous floaters and we have seen how difficult Daria Kasatkina can be to beat. She will be well rested after exiting Madrid early, but she herself as a tough draw ahead. Muguruza historically struggles with big hitters, but let’s face it–on clay she has the edge over the Latvian.Įlina Svitolina is the defending champion here and is one of the favourites as a result. It could all lead to a Muguruza vs Ostapenko quarter final which would be a titanic battle. Mihaela Buzarnescu might be the biggest challenge in this section for Ostapenko as she has form on her side this clay season. She has a relatively soft draw after Petra Kvitova’s withdrawal, so that means that Magdalena Rybarikova is the other seed in this section. Jelena Ostapenko disappointed in Madrid but the thing with the Latvian is that she can hit form at any time. Francesca Schiavone will play her last Rome tournament this week and opens against Dominika Cibulkova. Ashleigh Barty is the other seed here, but the Aussie prefers faster surfaces and has Maria Sharapova as an opening round opponent. She will open against the winner of Daria Gavrilova vs Cici Bellis which will be an interesting second round match with both those players presenting a challenge. Rome has been quite a good pit-stop to Roland Garros for Garbine Muguruza, so despite her indifferent form the Spaniard is a dangerous player here. Both Garcia and Halep prefer the courts of Madrid, but in Rome I would give the Romanian the edge. I expect the seeds to advance to the quarter finals here despite some tough matches along the way. Sloane Stephens will likely meet her there, but she herself has a tough opener against Barbora Strycova. The Frenchwoman looks to have found some form though and she should be safe to make the last 16 with a declining Sara Errani or Timea Babos waiting in round two. Madison Keys is also in this section, but her struggles on clay may give Carla Suarez Navarro or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova a chance to make the round of 16.Ĭaroline Garcia had a good run to the Madrid semi finals, but a 2 & 2 defeat to Kiki Bertens ended it on a sour note. She enters as the top seed so gets a BYE into round two where she will face the winner of Victoria Azarenka vs Naomi Osaka–a brutal draw. Simona Halep’s winning run in Madrid came to an end at the hands of Karolina Pliskova, so the Romanian will be keen to regain some ranking points in Rome. Elina Svitolina is the defending champion on the last major stop to Roland Garros. After a great tournament in Madrid, the tour heads to Rome for the second Premier tournament in as many weeks. ![]()
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