Meeting of titans Draw WTA 500 Berlin: Osaka vs Zheng and Azarenka vs Sakkari

The WTA 500 event Berlin draw has been made, and some big-name players will participate. The tournament starts on Monday the 17th of June and will finish on the 23rd of June. The competition will be one final opportunity for players before the start of the third Grand Slam of the year, Wimbledon 2024, which will begin on July 01.

The contest of the first round will be between the former world number one Naomi Osaka and world number six China’s Qinwen Zheng. Osaka’s most recent appearance was in the Libema Open, where she was eventually knocked out after losing in the third round to Bianca Andreescu of Canada with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.

Before that, the four-time Grand Slam winner lost in the second-round of the French Open to world number one Iga Swiatek with a score of 7-6, 1-6, 7-5.

Zheng is also coming off a disappointing performance at the Roland Garros, where she lost in the third round to Elina Avanesyan with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Another mouthwatering contest will be between the former world number one Victoria Azarenka and current world number one Maria Sakkari. Azarenka’s most recent appearance was in the French Open, where she was knocked out after losing in the second round to Russia’s young tennis sensation Mirra Andreeva with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

On the other hand, Sakkari also had a horrible outing at the Roland Garros, where she was knocked out after losing in the first round to France’s Varvara Gracheva with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. It will be the fourth meeting between the players. In the previous three meetings, Azarenka has a clear advantage as she won all three matches.

America’s Coco Gauff, world number two Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and America’s Jessica Pegula were awarded an automatic berth in the second round.

Last year, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic was the winner as she defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 7-6. The 2022 edition Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, who has also taken part in the ongoing Rothesay Open, will face a player from the qualifying round.

1 C.Gauff

 Bye

 B.Haddad Maia

 E.Alexandrova

 L.Noskova

WC  A.Kerber

 Qualifier

8  O.Jabeur

4  J.Pegula

 Bye

WC  D.Vekic

WC  J.Niemeier

 Qualifier

 E.Navarro

WC  N.Osaka

6  Q.Zheng

7  M.Sakkari

 V.Azarenka

 C.Garcia

 Qualifier

 Qualifier

 L.Samsonova

 Bye

3  E.Rybakina

5  M.Vondrousova

 Qualifier

 Qualifier

 A.Kalinskaya

 M.Kostyuk

 D.Kasatkina

 Bye

2  A.Sabalenka