⚔️ A proper first-round SHOWDOWN will be played at the 2024 Berlin Open, as Naomi Osaka and Qinwen Zheng will clash in the first round. 🚨 Zheng is the seeded player, but Osaka is the slight favorite in this matchup!
Preview 2024 WTA Berlin Ladies Open: Sabalenka, Gauff, Rybakina, and Osaka – Zheng first round clash
WTAMonday, 17 June 2024 at 09:25
The
2024 WTA Berlin Ladies Open promises an exciting draw with 15 top-20 players vying for
the first WTA 500 title of the grass-swing. Without the 2023 champion Petra
Kvitova, the main favorites include Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Elena
Rybakina. The tournament will take place at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in Berlin
from June 17 to 23.
Practically
the entire top-10 will be present, with the exceptions of French Open champion
Iga Swiatek and runner-up Jasmine Paolini. The 32-player draw will feature
thrilling matches from the first round, including Naomi Osaka vs. Qinwen Zheng
and Maria Sakkari vs. Victoria Azarenka.
Berlin Preview – Top Half
The
top four seeds have first-round byes, led by the new world No. 2 Coco Gauff in
the top half. Gauff faces a challenging path, awaiting the winner between
Beatriz Haddad Maia (No. 20) and Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 16). Also in her
half, the 8th seed Ons Jabeur will play against China's Xinyu Wang (No. 40),
while 2018 Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber (No. 223) takes on teenage
sensation Linda Nozkova (No. 28).
The
first-round clash drawing the most interest is between world No. 8 Qinwen Zheng
and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka (No. 125). The Chinese player,
runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year, won their most recent
encounter a month ago in the fourth round of the Rome Open, while Osaka claimed
victory in their first meeting at the 2022 San Jose Open.
The
winner of this match could face either Emma Navarro (No. 18) or Katerina
Siniakova (No. 31), with a potential quarterfinal matchup against world No. 5
Jessica Pegula.
Qinwen Zheng at 2024 Australian Open
Berlin Preview – Bottom Half
Aryna
Sabalenka's quarterfinal exit at the French Open dropped her to world No. 3.
She aims to regain her ranking and prepare well for Wimbledon, starting her
grass-swing against the winner between Marta Kostyuk (No. 17) and Daria
Kasatkina (No. 14). If she advances, she might face the 2023 Wimbledon champion
Marketa Vondrousova, who begins her campaign against Rebeka Masarova (No. 103).
A
highly anticipated first-round match will be Maria Sakkari (No. 9) versus
Victoria Azarenka (No. 19), two heavyweights on the tour meeting for the fourth
time in a head-to-head that Azarenka leads 3-0. Also in this half, Elena
Rybakina awaits the winner of the all-Russian clash between Veronika
Kudermetova (No. 34) and recent Libema Open s’Hertogensboch champion Liudmila
Samsonova (No. 15).
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