2020 WTA Tour: French Open

Former two-time Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova has looked devastating in Paris this week. It has all been quite emotional for the Czech, who famously made her return to action in Paris following that horrifying knife attack in 2017. Kvitova is not generally regarded as a clay-court specialist.  The pin-point serving Czech generally likes to shorten her rallies and can grow frustrated with drawn-out points. The last time she reached this stage in Paris was 2012 (when she reached the semi-final). But people tend to forget that Petra Kvitova is the only woman to ever win the Madrid Open on three occasions.  Kvitova struggled with injury last year after reaching the final of the Aussie Open. She is yet to capture a title in this disjointed year, with her best result a final in Qatar in February. You can see that she is desperate to make up for a disappointing 4th round loss to Rogers in Flushing Meadows. She is yet to drop a set yet and looks determined to finally claim that elusive 3rd Slam.

Whatever happens from this moment onwards, Laura Siegemund will always be remembered for eating a bowl of noodles during her 4th round encounter with Paula Badosa. It was just another bizarre sight in a year of incongruity. Laura Siegemund is one of four unseeded players in this year’s quarterfinals. The German journeywoman has two WTA titles and twelve ITF titles to her name. She enjoyed the greatest success of her career a few weeks back, winning the US Doubles title alongside Vera Zvonareva. But few would have given the pugnacious Siegemund much chance of advancing to this stage. She has had to overcome the likes of Gorges and Martic en route to this stage. But one look at Siegemund’s resume does reveal a certain penchant for the clay. She won her first WTA title in 2016 in Bastad. She then won a WTA Premier event in Stuttgart, delighting her home fans with a victory as a wildcard entry. She also reached the semi-finals last year in Bucharest. Siegemund is clearly riding the crest of a wave and will look to further exploit a depleted Grand Slam draw.  

This will be the 2nd time these two will have met (the last time being a Kvitova thrashing in 2015). I wish I could confidently back Siegemund as the outsider; how I do love my outsider bets. But it’s hard to see a way forward for the workmanlike Siegemund, especially if Kvitova’s serve starts well.  But as I noted earlier, Kvitova sometimes struggles against opponents who don’t attempt to go toe-to-toe with her.  She has traditionally struggled against Siegemund’s compatriot Angelique Kerber, who like Siegemund attempts to prolong exchanges to breaking point. And just look at Siegemund’s fellow surprise quarterfinalists: Podoroska, Swiatek and Trevisan. So maybe there is just enough in it to opt for the Siegemubd victory (or at the very least a Kvitova win in three sets).