Damien Kayat previews selected quarter-final matches from WTA’s Cincinnati Masters.
WTA Tour 2019 | WTA Premier 5
Western and Southern Open (Cincinnati Masters)
Linter Family Tennis Centre, Cincinnati, (Outdoor Hard-Court)
Selected Quarter-Finals | 16-17 August 2019
Karolina Pliskova (1/4)
vs Svetlana Kuznetsova (5/2)
You have to admire the gumption of Kuznetsova. To return from more than half a year off at here age: she must really love this game. The two-time Grand Slam Champion won the US Open a full 15 years ago. She clearly is going to find it physically taxing to be a factor in a Slam again. But as she proved in winning the Washington Open last year, on hard-courts she will always have the capacity to bring it for a week. She is a former Indian Wells and Miami finalist, which tells you all you need to know about her proficiency on this terrain. She has already endured a few marathon matches this week, with hard-fought victories against Yastremska and Sevatsova. But she completely obliterated Sloane Stephens in the last round. Practically a matriarchal figure in the sport now, one wouldn’t put it past the Russian to deliver once again.
Czech star Karolina Pliskova shares Kuznetsova’s penchant for these surfaces. The imposing Czech reached the 2016 US Open Final and has been a fixture in the top five for some time. She has actually enjoyed an extremely consistent season, winning titles on all three surfaces. But purely in hard-court terms, there have been some excellent signs for Pliskova this year. She reached the semi-finals of the Aussie Open prior to a brilliant run in Miami. She reached the final of an event that shares many similarities to this one. Pliskova has faced fairly routine opposition thus far and may find in Kuznetsova an extremely plucky foe.
The head-to-head stats make for interesting reading. They share the spoils at two wins apiece. Pliskova won their last match on grass in 2017. But it is Kuznetsova who leads the hard-court encounters 2-1. That includes a victory in the 2017 Indian Wells semi-final. Having said all that, Pliskova actually beat Kuznetsova in this event back in 2016. While Pliskova is the nominal favourite, I think there is enough to suggest a Russian surprise may be at hand.
Venus Williams (15/10)
vs Madison Keys (9/20)
Seven-time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams is certainly a player at a crossroads in her career. She clearly still loves the competitive dimension, but her performances this season suggest a dramatic downturn. First-round defeats at both the French Open and Wimbledon dramatically reflect this shift. So it’s quite a surprise to me that the legendary figure has progressed this far already, despite a quarterfinal showing at Indian Wells earlier this season. She has picked up some huge wins against Donna Vekic and Kiki Bertens. She took down defending champion Bertens in a monumental three-set match. The one thing that concerns me is the amount of time that Williams has spent on the court already. She has developed issues with chronic fatigue and may find the latter stages of this event very taxing.
Madison Keys has had to contend with a horror draw and she has done so admirably. She beat Muguruza and Kasatkina prior to a magnificent victory over Wimbledon Champion Simona Halep. The 24-year-old American has been very vocal in her love for this event and it shows. She is the type of player who seems to thrive during this period in and around Flushing Meadows. The 2017 US Open runner-up has ridiculously powerful groundstrokes that just beautifully penetrate the North-American hard-courts. There is a fascinating mini-narrative at work here, with Williams representing the old guard of American tennis and Keys its exciting next chapter.
Their head-to-head statistics remarkably mirror that of the earlier match. They sit on two wins apiece, with Keys edging the hard-court matches 2-1. The last time they met all the way back in 2016, with Keys emerging victorious in Canada. While the Williams narrative is an attractive one, I think that the physical toll of the week will hinder her. I think there is probably some added value in a Madison Keys straight sets victory.
