Damien Kayat previews Sloane Stephens vs Mirra Andreeva and Caroline Garcia vs Zhu Lin in Selected Round of 16 and Quarterfinal Matches of Tennis in the Land on the 24th of August 2023.
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 250 Series
Tennis in the Land
Jacobs Pavilion, Cleveland, Ohio (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Round of 16 and Quarterfinal Matches – 24th August
Round of 16:
Sloane Stephens 5/4 | Mirra Andreeva 61/00
This looks set to be a fascinating tactical clash between two defensive baseliners. The ever-mercurial Sloane Stephens has really started to turn the ship around of late. The 2017 US Open champion has struggled with consistency over the years and has perhaps lacked the desire to truly push herself.
But she has managed to regain a bit of consistency since losing five of her six matches in March. She won a WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo before a semi-final run in Rabat. She then stunned Karolina Pliskova en route to the 4th round of the French Open.
She just shocked Caroline Garcia in Cincinnati and it would seem as if she is building some nice momentum ahead of Flushing Meadows. She never started too impressively against compatriot Lauren Davies, coming back from a set down to avoid an early embarrassment.
She will likely need to up her level significantly as she faces off against teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva.
16-year-old Russian sensation Mirra Andreeva has had a year to savour. She made her full WTA debut last year at the age of 15 but it wasn’t until this year that we truly saw her massive potential.
She started the year in positive fashion, reaching the final of the girls’ singles at the Aussie Open. She then enjoyed real success at ITF level before winning her maiden WTA match in Madrid.
She then demonstrated her ability on the Grand Slam stage, reaching the 3rd round of the French Open and the 4th round at Wimbledon. Andreeva is looking to follow Coco Gauff’s example and graduate from teenage starlet to world class player.
She is a counterpuncher who doesn’t really possess any massive weapons. But her ball retention is excellent and her speed is undeniable. She was a bit inconsistent in her opener against Korpatsch, being taken to three sets after winning the first with a bagel.
But those are the types of inconsistencies that are commonplace amongst teenage players.
Verdict: Stephens to win in three at 44/10
This will be the first career meeting between these two. This could prove to be a bruising encounter between two accomplished counterpunchers. Andreeva has proven her durability against experienced players this year.
But I think Stephens will be out to prove a point here. She won’t need to force the issue against the Russian and can play at the pace she wants to play. I think her experience and know-how could be enough to see off the talented Andreeva.
Quarter-final:
Caroline Garcia 48/100 | Zhu Lin 16/10
It has been a slightly surreal season for top seed Caroline Garcia. The Frenchwoman burst back into relevance with an exceptional 2022 campaign. And it was built on the back of a simply phenomenal North-American hardcourt season (she won in Cincinnati and reached the semi-finals of the US Open).
But she came into this year’s Tennis in the Land event after suffering three successive opening defeats on North American hardcourts. What has happened? I think her ultra-aggressive style is fine when things are flowing. But she does tend to lack a ‘plan B’ when things go awry.
But she seems to have found something in Cleveland, thrashing Fruhvirtova in her opening match before a more workmanlike showing against Peyton Stearns. That victory over Stearns took her humdrum season to 28-18 (a stat inflated by runs to the Lyon and Monterrey finals).
29-year-old Chinese Zhu Lin has actually enjoyed a breakthrough campaign. The baseliner has largely plied her trade on the ITF and Challenger circuits- success at the top level has largely eluded her.
But she has managed to string together some notable results this season. She reached the quarterfinals of the Auckland Open prior to her maiden Grand Slam 4th round appearance at the Aussie Open. She then went on to win her maiden WTA title at the Hua Hin Championships, propelling her into the top 50 in the world for the first time in her career.
But things have gone a bit dormant for Zhu Lin of late (she had lost four consecutive matches leading into this event). But she came out of nowhere to pulverize 8th seed Blinkova in her opening match. She was similarly dismissive of Julia Grabher and now she has the task of trying to absorb Garcia’s mammoth power.
Verdict: Garcia to win in three sets at – 3/1
Garcia won their only previous encounter all the way back in 2012. This could be quite interesting. Garcia has started to find her range in Cleveland but Zhu Lin is a tireless competitor who will retrieve a lot of balls.
That could give Garcia more chances of committing unforced errors. But I ultimately have to side with Garcia here. She’s simply too good to continue this rut and this week could give her a massive boost ahead of the insanity of New York.
