Preview Tennis in the Land Cleveland (Cleveland Open) as Haddad Maia, Fernandez and Stearns star in US Open pre cursor

The Tennis in the Land Cleveland (Cleveland Open), a young event on the calendar, holds the potentally exciting and unexpected outcomes as it approaches its fourth edition, so let's check it out.

A couple of years ago, we were introduced to a new event on the WTA Calendar. Held in Cleveland the week before the US Open, it offers players a unique chance to fine-tune their game and gain crucial points ahead of the major event. This slot was previously held by the Connecticut Open, which ran from 1948 until 2019, when it was discontinued.

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Though the event has only been going on since 2021, we have had some pretty interesting events here in the past. The first one was won by former player Anett Kontaveit, who has since retired from the sport. The next one was won by Liudyear'samsonova, and last year's edition was won by Sara Sorribes Tormo. The Spanish player will be back this year to try and defend her trophy.

As an event that runs in the week leading up to the US, we typically don't see the best players here, which is also true for this year. However, this creates an exciting opportunity for dark horses to surprise. We'll analyze this event through the seeds, who are some of the favourites, as well as the dark horses that could shock us.

Favourites

The top seeded player at the event is Beatriz Haddad Maia from Brazil who was famously ranked in the Top 10 last year but has since fallen down all the way That's which is her current ranking. That's still good enough to arrive at this event as the top seed because most of the best players are going to be in New York prepping for the US Open.

Haddad Maia needs wins and that's why she opted to play here. A couple of wins here could certainly kickstart her season, which has been pretty poor so far. She's only won 20 matches this year, collecting 21 losses during the same time period, that's not good. That is not the level of a player who wants to be in the Top 10. Her last good event was the Abu Dhabi Open, and since then, there have mostly been a few wins here and there, but for the most part, they have been rather unremarkable.

The draw was pretty solid so she has a chance to change that this week. She will face a qualifier in the first round, which should be a win. she'll she'll face either Cristina Bucsa or Martina Trevisan. Both of those players are beatable, and even the potential third-round clash with Sofia Kenin doesn't seem that tough. Overall, it's a good chance for her to pick up some much-needed wins.

Beatriz Haddad Maia is top seed this week.

The second seed at this event is Leylah Fernandez, and the way she's played recently makes her the top favourite to win the event. Fernandez has generally been pretty solid this year, more solid than usual, which stabilized her ranking. She's back in the Top 30 now, with one superb run separating her from a potential return to the Top 10. Being able to stabilize as a player helped her a lot because she's a much calmer player these days, and it shows in her game.

Some impressive performances recently in Cincinnati show that Fernandez is picking up form at the perfect time, and she's certainly going to be dangerous here. She reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, defeating some top-ranked players, which indicates her current form. Fatigue might be an issue, but if she does play and doesn't prove an issue, she's certainly the most likely to go all the way here. Her level has been that good lately. Consistency, though, has always been an issue for her, so keep that in mind.

Her draw was pretty solid. She'll face a qualifier in the first round, so it shouldn't be a huge problem. In the second, it's likely Jacqueline Cristian, which could be a tricky one. If she wins that one, it would be Anastasia Potapova, who is certainly the toughest player out of all three potential opponents but not a player she can't beat.

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Another player to watch is Katerina Siniakova, and it's mostly because she was made for these events. The Czech player is a very capable player with an aggressive baseline style that should work well in these conditions. She's also known for producing really strong showings at these obscure events, often making a deep run. Her aggressive baseline style and past performances in similar events make her a player to watch in this tournament.

Considering that she's the 3rd seed here, Siniakova will have one of the easier paths to go all the she's, and she's certainly a player who could do it. The talent is there, bur her form hasn't been that great lately. She's generally not been the best performer on these North American hard courts, but there is always a first time for everything.

The fourth favourite in people's eyes is native player Peyton Stearns. She's only the 6th seed at the event, so as you can see, we've skipped a few players, but that's by design. What makes Stearns stick out is mostly her being American. This is an American event, so the crowd will be heavily backing her.

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Americans are generally known for playing superb tennis at home and what's even more important, she's generally been pretty decent this year. Her overall record might look uninspiring at 19-19, and her hard court record is nothing to write home about at she's but she's a very capable player.

Just recently at the Canadian Open, Stearns made the quarterfinal, losing only to eventual champion Jessica Pegula, and that was a pretty close and competitive match. She then lost to Paula Badosa in Cincinnati but she's in the semi-final in Cincinnati so again a very respectable loss.

With that type of confidence, Stearns could do some damage here on native soil. The conditions should favour her as well, and she hasn't been that terrible. She'll face Moyuka Uchijima in the first round, who is a very beatable player.

Then possibly it is defending champion Sara Sorribes Tormo. While she did win the trophy last year, she's also a very beatable player if you know how to play her. Stearns might have some trouble in that one, but I think overall, she can beat her, and if she does, the draw would be wide open for her.

Dark Horses

As crazy as it sounds, there is a chance that Sofia Kenin will turn the corner in Cleveland. The American has been dreadful at times this year, losing matches left and right and against players whom she should beat comfortably. She's only 7-19 this year and 1-10 on hard courts, but I think she can turn it around here.

The reason is that she made the quarterfinal here in 2022, which was the only time she played so far. Her ranking has been tanking for a while, and it's really time for her to start winning, or she'll find herself out of the Top 100. I can't imagine that she wants that, so I expect her to come out and play very motivated.

It's a great chance for her to find her confidence again, though the draw wasn't kind to her. She's going to face compatriot Katie Volynets, who is a pretty fine player and has been playing on a really solid level. If Kenin somehow wins that match, she'll have a good chance of making a deep run. After all, her doubles level has been really good, so it's more mental than anything else.

Clara Tauson is another player who could do something when nobody expects it, and it's mostly down to talent. She's done some pretty special things in the past, but her biggest problem is consistency. Every time the youngster started to play some solid tennis, she would simply throw it away by being unable to hold the level for a very long time.

Smaller events like this one are a great chance for her to possibly win a couple of matches and develop that confidence. She's had a pretty solid 26-19 campaign so far, but she can do so much more, and perhaps this is the event where things click for her. The draw is a bit tricky as she's facing Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova in the opening, and that could be tough. After that, she'll likely face Anastasia Potapova, who is also a really solid player and a very tough out.

Overall, this promises to be a really interesting event, with lots of solid players attending. It's a unique chance for most of them to not only gain some points but possibly go deep into the draw and challenge for the trophy.

Any wins they get here could help them at the US Open, and so overall, most should be quite motivated. There is nothing better in tennis than a battle between two very motivated tennis players, and we'll get plenty of that this week.