Damien Kayat previews Iga Swiatek vs Marketa Vondrousova and Aryna Sabalenka vs Ons Jabeur in selected quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open on the 18th and 19th of August 2023.
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 1000 Series
Western and Southern Open – Cincinnati Open
Lindner Family Tennis Centre- Cincinnati (Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Quarter-finals – 18th, 19th August
18th August
Iga Swiatek 27/100 | Marketa Vondrousova 26/10
This should be a scintillating clash between the last two Grand Slam champions. French Open champ Iga Swiatek reached her 12th consecutive WTA quarterfinal after a comeback win against the indefatigable Qinwen Zheng.
That first set was arguably the worst tennis I have seen Swiatek play all season. A four-time winner this year, Swiatek hit a stunning 23 unforced errors in that first set. She was unable to capitalize on Zheng’s shocking 29% first-serve percentage.
She came out in the 2nd set with a renewed sense of vigour and started to really impress herself on Zheng’s poor delivery. She only hit eight unforced errors in the remainder of the match and the victory took her career WTA 1000 record to a staggering 60-17 (only Serena Williams has a higher wining percentage at this level).
Swiatek looks to be building on her Montreal semi-final and appears in fine fettle ahead of her US Open title defence.
Newly-minted Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova will be hoping that her body allows her to enjoy this golden period in her career. The versatile Czech has been cursed with injury over the years.
She finished runner-up at the 2019 French Open but missed almost the entire rest of the season through wrist surgery. She also missed out most of last year’s action due to further surgery. She has played some sustained tennis this season and the results speak for themselves.
Back-to-back round of 16 finishes at the ‘Sunshine Double’ gave us a glimpse of what the lefty is capable of. She once again made it to the final 16 in Rome before a disappointing 2nd round defeat in Paris. But all those results vanished into the ether in the wake of her awe-inspiring victory at Wimbledon.
The Czech actually became the first unseeded woman in history to win the title. She returned to action in Montreal last week and was soundly beaten by Coco Gauff in the round of 16. But she has looked awesome in Cincinnati, winning all three of her matches in straight-sets (a crazy achievement considering she had never previously won a match in this event).
Verdict: Swiatek to win in straight-sets at – 7/10
This will be only their 2nd career meeting, with Swiatek trouncing the Czech during the 2020 French Open. This should be an interesting match-up. Swiatek will look to dictate the pace and play her characteristically high-octane brand of tennis.
Vondrousova is more calculated in her approach and will look to offset the rhythm of the match with drop-shots and off-speed shot-making. I just think the speed of these courts play perfectly into Swiatek’s hands.
19th August
Aryna Sabalenka 54/100 | Ons Jabeur 14/10
This promises to be a fascinating rematch of a truly epic Wimbledon semi-final. 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka remains within touching distance of Iga Swiatek atop the world rankings and she will be desperate to outdo her great rival this week.
The Belarusian has enjoyed a terrific campaign, winning her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne and becoming a persistent presence in the latter stages of events. But the big-hitting World No.2 has looked a little scratchy since that agonizing Wimbledon semi-final defeat to Jabeur. She lost to Samsonova in the early stages of Montreal and she struggled past the unfancied Ann Li in her opening match here.
It would seem that the rigorous task of hunting down Swiatek is starting to take its toll. But she looked brilliant against the dangerous Kasatkina, essentially pummeling the Russian into submission with her unbridled power. Her straight-sets victory over Daria Kasatkina took her impressive hardcourt record for the year to 23-4.
Though she would never admit it- Ons Jabeur probably felt a hint of relief when Vekic was forced to retire in their round of 16 clash. She had to fight back from 5-1 down in the 3rd in an absolutely exhausting first round tie with Kalinina.
The Tunisian only returned to action this week following her heartbreaking defeat to Vondrousova in the Wimbledon final. She wouldn’t have wanted another arduous three-setter as she beds herself back into action. Victory in this event could be an important first step in Jabeur overcoming that traumatic Wimbledon defeat.
She understands how to diffuse the power of Sabalenka and counterpunch efficiently.
Verdict: Sabalenka to win in straight-sets at – 3/1
Sabalenka leads the head-to-head rivalry 3-2. Furthermore, the Belarusian has won both of their hardcourt encounters. The last of those was a tight round-robin meeting in last year’s WTA Finals. I just think Sabalenka appears to be adapting to these courts. She probably realized that she doesn’t need to always overhit on these fast surfaces. She gave Kasatkina a pasting and I can see her really pushing Swiatek this week.
