Damien Kayat previews selected Round of 16 matches from the St Petersberg Ladies’ Trophy taking place on Wednesday 30 January.
Alison Van Uytvanck 31/20 | Aryna Sabalenka 9/20
Aryna Sabalenka really burst into the consciousness of tennis fans around the world with her herculean efforts alongside Sasnovich in 2017’s Fed Cup. The Belarusians helped the team finish as runners-up despite featuring no players ranked inside the top 75 in the world. And Sabalenka successfully converted that team form into an excellent 2018 campaign. The big-serving Sabalenka won the Wuhan Open and Connecticut Open in an impressive end to the season. Her hardcourt credentials were further enhanced by an excellent Flushing Meadows showing. She reached the final 16, losing to newly minted World Number One Naomi Osaka in three epic sets. Sabalenka certainly embodies the contemporary player, with an exceptionally aggressive approach that suffers no fools. In her first victory against a top 10 player- Karolina Pliskova- she hit 40 winners but also made 39 unforced errors. She is clearly not one to die wondering, though she will have felt a tad disappointed with a limp third-round exit in Melbourne.
Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck is a far steadier player who lacks the obvious firepower that Sabalenka wields. The 2015 French Open quarter-finalist picked up an impressive straight-sets victory against compatriot Kirsten Flipkens last time out. She had a largely disappointing season last year, though she did claim her second WTA title in Hungary. She had a decent fourth-round run at Wimbledon, where she accounted for Garbine Muguruza in the early stages. She also reached the semi-final stage of the Linz Open. At the age of 24, Van Uytvanck knows that this will be an important year in her development. She, unfortunately, ran into defending champion Caroline Wozniacki in the opening round in Melbourne.
This will be the second meeting between these two, with Van Uytvanck actually leading their head-to-head 1-0. That is slightly misleading in regards to this encounter, as that came on the grass-courts which clearly seem to favour the Belgian. I think that Sabaleka is a serious talent and looks decent value to win in straight sets at 23/20.
Maria Sharapova 1/4 | Daria Kasatkina 49/20
This promises to be a mouth-watering spectacle as an icon of Russian tennis- Maria Sharapova- takes on her potential successor- Daria Kasatkina. It’s been an interesting few years for Sharapova. The career Grand Slam winner has enjoyed her fair share of ups and downs since her controversial Wada doping ban. She has managed to capture a title but largely her form has been quite erratic as if the very top girls have passed her by. Having said that, Sharapova was imperious in disposing of defending champion Caroline Wozniacki at the Aussie Open. She also looked impressive in taking down young Aussie Gavrilova in the opening match. Sharapova reached the fourth round or better in three slams last year, which suggests that she is on the cusp of recapturing her best form.
Young Kasatkina has endured a miserable start to her 2019 campaign. She was knocked out of the opening rounds of both the Sydney and Brisbane events before once again falling at the first hurdle in Melbourne. This comes after the young Russian’s extremely consistent 2018. This included a run to the semi-final of this very event. She enjoyed a profitable first quarter last year, losing in the Dubai final before that tremendous semi-final run at Indian Wells. She enjoyed a host of decent finishes throughout the year, though she never quite captured that early season brilliance. A quarter-final run at Wimbledon was the obvious standout, though she did claim the Kremlin Cup. Kasatkina- much like Aryna Sabalanka and Ashleigh Barty- is a player teetering on the brink of superstardom.
This will only be the second meeting between the two Russians. The highly decorated Maria Sharapova won their only meeting on the Canadian hardcourts last season. She not only won it, she utterly obliterated her compatriot in a ruthless display reminiscent of her halcyon days. However, 2/7 hardly offers one much value. Kasatkina did enough on tour last season for me to justify her at 49/20, particularly considering her semi-final run last season.
