Damien Kayat takes a look at selected Bad Homburg Open round of 16 fixtures.
2021 WTA Tour
WTA 250 Series
Bad Homburg Open
TC Bad Homburg, Bad Homburg, Germany (Grass)
Selected Round of 16 Matches
Petra Kvitova 24/100 | vs Ann Li 29/10
Top-seeded Petra Kvitova rallied from a set down to beat the unheralded Pole Katarzyna Piter in the first round. It really was a perfect distillation of what has been a pretty underwhelming campaign for the Czech star. She hasn’t progressed past the quarterfinal stage of any event outside of a victory in Doha. Her mercurial talents make her wildly unpredictable and somewhat frustrating to preview. However, the Czech star is a queen on this surface. The two-time Wimbledon Champion has the ability to annihilate opponents with her serve alone. Her lefty stance and pinpoint accuracy make her nearly impossible to beat when she is on song. However, her serve has been much less consistent in recent times. Her last grass-court title came back in her tremendous 2018 campaign when she made it back-to-back titles at Birmingham. Furthermore, she hasn’t made it past the 4th round of Wimbledon since her last victory in 2014. So, there’s certainly not the same air of grass-court invincibility surrounding Kvitova these days.
Ann Li is a steadily rising US player who has gone slightly under the radar. This is likely due to the instant success of the likes of Kenin and Gauff. But the 20-year-old has enjoyed her own steady progression of late. She started the year in fantastic style, having to ultimately share the Grampians Trophy with Anett Kontaveit due to scheduling issues. She then had a decent 3rd round run at the Aussie Open. She followed that Grand Slam performance with her 2nd semi-final showing of the year at the Monterrey Open. I was slightly disappointed by her first-round exit in Berlin last week. But she certainly should have what it takes to succeed on this surface. She notably finished runner-up in the 2017 Wimbledon Junior Championships. She also just decimated Anna Zaja in the opening round.
Kvitova in three sets at 3/1
This will be the first-ever meeting between these two. I really think that Ann Li is ready to give Kvitova a good match. I just feel that the Czech star will have benefitted from that three-set opener against Piter. Perhaps a three-set victory for Kvitova at 3/1 would be the best option.
Angelique Kerber 1/5 | Anna Blinkova 7/2 *Forecast betting
We go from one left-handed grass-court specialist to another with Angelique Kerber. But 33-year-old German Kerber has been on a fairly sharp downward trajectory over the past two years. After her opening-round victory against Yashina she has improved to a 17-17 win-loss record over the past two seasons. But overall, Kerber has always been a fantastic grass-court competitor. The 2018 Wimbledon Champion also reached the final of SW19 in 2016. Furthermore, her last WTA Final came at the 2019 Eastbourne International. Kerber just seems to have been lost in the shuffle in recent years. The women’s game has swung violently towards brute power over the past few years (think Osaka and Barty). Kerber has always been more of a counterpuncher. She always presents the opportunity for an early exit these days.
Anna Blinkova really entered this event in abject form. The 22-year-old Russian has endured nine first-round exits this season (including qualifiers). In fact, in ten events between the Grampians Trophy and the Bol event she only won one main draw match. She seemed to have stopped the bleeding with the run to the semi-finals in Bol. But then she was predictably beaten in the qualifiers in Berlin. Very few gave her much hope against the in-form Clara Tauson. Tauson memorably won seven matches on the spin to claim the Lyon Open earlier this year. But she managed to give a spirited performance that defied the odds. Now does this represent a turning point for Blinkova? Or was Tauson just too inexperienced on grass to compete? One little factoid: Blinkova was runner-up at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships in girls’ singles.
Verdict: Kerber to win in straight sets Price TBA
This will be the first-ever career meeting between these two. There is a massive temptation to go for the underdog here. Blinkova’s victory over Tauson was probably her best victory of the season. But I just have the feeling that Kerber will have a strong showing this week. Kerber to win in straight sets.
