Damien Kayat previews Jelena Ostapenko vs Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens in selected Round of 64 and Round of 32 matches on the 15th and16th August 2023.
2023 WTA Tour
WTA 1000 Series
Western and Southern Open – Cincinnati Open
Selected Round of 64 and Round of 32 matches – 15th – 16th August
15th August – Round of 64
Jelena Ostapenko 13/20 | Karolina Pliskova 12/10
Mercurial Latvian Jelena Ostapenko has enjoyed a relatively successful season thus far. The former French Open champion started the year in fine style, reaching her first Major quarterfinal since 2018 at the Aussie Open.
She reached her first Italian Open semi-final in May and she won the 6th title of her career at the Birmingham Classic. She will be looking to avoid her 3rd successive defeat with a first-round victory here. Her performance in Montreal was symptomatic of the type of schizophrenic form she possesses.
She lost to Jennifer Brady 6-7 (7), 6-0, 6-7 (8). Those wild swings in momentum are what you can expect from any Ostapenko encounter. The ultra-aggressive Ostapenko will face a very familiar foe in her first-round match: Karolina Pliskova.
This has certainly been a trying time for former World No.1 Karolina Pliskova. The 16-time WTA winner has been 1-7 in her last eight completed tour-level matches. Ouch! Pliskova’s biggest issues have always been around mobility.
And that is always going to be exacerbated the older you get. Still, a quarterfinal run at this year’s Aussie Open shows you that there is still some quality tennis in the statuesque Czech. She will also be looking to draw on some positive juju this week.
Pliskova won the title here in 2016, thrashing Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-1 in the final. She was competitive against Swiatek in Montreal last week and she will use that performance as a launching pad for the rest of her season.
Verdict: Ostapenko to win in straight sets at 14/10
This will incredibly be the 10th meeting between these two, with Pliskova holding a slight edge at 5-4 in the head-to-head stakes. The Latvian won their last meeting in Adelaide earlier this year. This promises to be a fiery, brutal encounter.
Both of these ladies prefer hitting early winners and tend to avoid protracted exchanges. Pliskova’s serve is an obvious weapon and she will lean on that heavily here. But I just think Ostapenko’s all-court form is just too good to ignore.
16th August – Round of 32
Caroline Garcia 81/100 | Sloane Stephens 98/100
This looks set to be a really exciting round of 32 clash. It’s amazing how much can change in the space of a year. Caroline Garcia’s career resurgence started in this very event last year. Winning this title was the springboard for a US Open semi-final run and WTA Finals victory.
She struck fear into her opponents with her aggressive groundstrokes and relentless returning. But the Frenchwoman has lost a little of her lustre this year. Her ranking has been kept afloat by final runs in two fringe events (Lyon and Monterrey).
But she is coming into this match off the back of three successive defeats (including back-to-back defeats in Washington and Canada). You get the feeling that she is forcing the issue at present and she could do with a little more restraint.
Still, the defending champion is a dangerous hardcourt opponent who has the ability to suddenly snap back into form (just look at last season).
I feel like I have written a lot about Sloane Stephens of late. The 2017 US Open champion will probably feel that she hasn’t quite lived up to her early potential. But there have been signs of improvement this year.
She reached back-to-back quarterfinals in Mexico and Autin before claiming a WTA 125 title in Saint-Malo. That victory gave her a boost and she went on to reach her only tour-level semi-final of the year in Morocco.
She gave a good account of herself at Roland Garros, going out to World No.2 Sabalenka in the 4th round. She was unfortunate to run into Rybakina in Montreal and she bounced back with a commanding win against Cocciaretto in her first match here.
She reached the semi-finals here in 2017 and she will be looking to take advantage of Garcia’s recent dip in form.
Verdict: Stephens to win in three – 7/2
Garcia leads the head-to-head with Stephens 4-2. The Frenchwoman has crucially beaten the American twice in this event. However, it was Stephens who emerged victorious when they last met in Guadalajara last year.
This will be interesting. Garcia is naturally aggressive while Stephens tends to play more passive tennis. And this might actually work in Stephens’ advantage this week.
She just needs to use her natural athleticism and keep the ball in play. Garcia has been overplaying of late and she could produce plenty of errors if Stephens can hustle effectively.
