Another week, another WTA 1000 event in the Middle East! Marketa Vondrousova faces Peyton Stearns and Iga Swiatek takes on Sloane Stephens in the round of 32. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 WTA Tour | WTA 1000
Dubai Tennis Championships
Aviation Club Tennis Centre, Dubai, UAE
Selected Round of 32 Matches- 20th February
Marketa Vondrousova 27/100 | Peyton Stearns 26/10
The modern-day queen of the drop-shot, 24-year-old Marketa Vondrousova will be desperate for a strong showing this week. The crafty lefty has been haunted by injuries throughout her career.
She reached the final of the 2019 French Open as a teenager but was forced to end that season early due to a left-wrist injury suffered at Wimbledon. It always feels as if injury pounced on her when she was on the brink of greatness.
The tattooed Czech took advantage of a largely injury-free campaign last year, becoming the first unseeded ladies’ Wimbledon champ in the Open Era. She proved that was no fluke with an excellent quarter-final run at the US Open.
But her form has dipped significantly since New York and she suffered a hip issue at the start of the year. In fact, she is 1-6 since the conclusion of last year’s US Open. She was forced to withdraw from Adelaide earlier this year and she was frankly humiliated by Yastremska in the first round of the Aussie Open.
She just picked up her first win of the season in Qatar but she really needs to find some consistency in the upcoming weeks.
22-year-old American Peyton Stearns just broke an eight-match tour-level losing streak in some style, beating rising Russian star Mirra Andreeva in a seesaw three-set encounter. It was exactly the sort of eye-catching result that the former collegiate star needed.
Stearns made a real name for herself in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of college tennis, becoming the first Texan to win the NCAA title back in 2022. Last year marked her first full season on tour and she did brilliantly to break into the top 50 in the world.
She reached a maiden WTA final at the Copa Colsanitas and she defied expectations with a barnstorming fourth-round run at the US Open (more on that later). The aggressive American has struggled with consistency of late but hopefully that performance against Andreeva will give her some confidence.
She has an absolutely devastating forehand that has the ability to tame any opponent. She just needs to eradicate those errors and serve slightly more consistently.
The Verdict: Stearns to win in straight sets at 54/10
Vondrousova leads their head-to-head 2-0, actually beating the American twice in Grand Slam action last season. Their most recent meeting was a tight three-set affair that ended Stearns’ spirited US Open charge. I just think that Stearns could take advantage of an undercooked Vondrousova this week.
The Czech hasn’t looked 100% fit of late and Stearns has the power to exploit that. These courts aren’t lightning quick but they are certainly a lot quicker than those in Doha last week. This should work in favour of the flat-hitting American. As always, if you aren’t as confident as I am you can back Stearns to win at 26/10.
Iga Swiatek 1/25 | Sloane Stephens 17/2
Iga Swiatek once again proved her doubters wrong last week, winning her first title of the year in fine style at the Qatar Open. It was a significant win for a number of reasons. She lost to Rybakina three times last season and the psychological boost of beating the Kazakh in a final will have done wonders for her.
Also, she became the first woman to win a singles title three years in a row since Serena won Miami from 2013 to 2015. To have that level of dominance in an event underlines her status as the world’s leading player.
It was the 18th title of her career and this week she will be aiming to win a maiden Dubai crown. She came close last year, going down in pretty routine fashion to Barbora Krejcikova in the final. These courts are a bit quicker than Doha but they are far from the electric pace you find at Melbourne. Swiatek should still feel really comfortable out here and she is going to be tough to beat.
Next up for Swiatek is the unpredictable Sloane Stephens. The 2017 US Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up has certainly not lived up to the promise of her early career. She has been criticized for taking a bit of a laissez-faire approach to training over the years.
She won the Abierto Zapopan in 2022 (her first title in four years). But 2023 was a pretty uninspired affair for Stephens (a fourth-round run at the French Open was arguably her most notable performance). And this year has been similarly underwhelming for the American.
Her opening three-set win over Burel took her win-loss record for the campaign to 4-4. She looked at her best in Melbourne, taking down Daria Kasatkina en route to a third round Aussie Open finish. But it’s another thing entirely to upset the World No.1 in her current form.
Verdict: Swiatek to win in straight sets at 19/100
Swiatek won both their previous encounters in straight sets during the 2022 season. I’m following one surprise call with probably the most uncool piece of punditry possible. I can’t really see Stephens causing the Pole too many issues.
Stephens plays an ultra-defensive style that runs contrary to your typical American bomber. She tends to thrive in slower conditions, where she can use her athleticism to defend the court. These quicker conditions will suit Swiatek more and she should pick up a really emphatic win here.
