The Guadalajara Open Akron continues as Jelena Ostapenko faces Marina Stakusic while Magdalena Frech goes up against Ashlyn Krueger in the round of 16. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA 1000
Guadalajara Open Akron
Panamerican Tennis Centre
Selected RO 16 matches – 12-13 September
12th September
Jelena Ostapenko 1/5 | Marina Stakusic 34/10
This could be a fascinating match between two fearsome hitters. Latvian Jelena Ostapenko has enjoyed yet another wonderfully schizophrenic season. She started the season in fine style, winning her 7th title in Adelaide to reenter the top ten in the world rankings.
She would go on to win another title in Linz (making it the first time since 2017 that she has won multiple titles in a season). She would reach the quarters in Rome before another excellent quarterfinal run at SW19. But she has also dropped a few disaster classes along the way: she crashed out to Avenesyan in her first-round match in Cincinnati.
In fact, she comes into this match on a three-match losing streak. The famously combustible Latvian has occasionally let her temper get the better of her this season (she banished her coach midway through her Wimbledon quarterfinal defeat to Krejcikova).
The top seed could do with a solid, controversy-free week to reignite her singles campaign (she just won her maiden Grand Slam doubles title playing alongside Lyudmyla Kichenok).
19-year-old Marina Stakusic put on a masterclass in her opening match, beating former Olympic semifinalist A.K. Schmiedlova in a brilliant straight-sets win. She was flashing winners left and right, playing a brand of first-strike tennis that belies her inexperience (this was only her 7th tour-level victory).
The Canadian youngster enjoyed a stellar 2023, winning three hardcourt ITF titles and playing a crucial role in Canada clinching their maiden Billie Jean King Cup trophy. Like most 19-year-old players, Stakusic has taken some time to find her feet on the tour proper.
But her opening performance felt like an announcement, and it will be interesting to see how she fares against the top seed.
The Verdict: Ostapenko to win in three 31/10
This will unsurprisingly be the first-ever meeting between these two. This could be an interesting challenge for Ostapenko. Stakusic seems to approach the game in a similarly cavalier way to the Latvian, looking to take the initiative as early as possible in a rally.
That could destabilise Ostapenko (who obviously likes to be the one pushing the issue). That could give the youngster the chance to nick a set. But the Latvian should have too much for the Canadian in three.
13th September
Magadalena Frech 31/20 | Ashlyn Krueger 5/10
This is one of those matches where the seeding obscures the reality of the situation. Frech has enjoyed a frustrating campaign. The 26-year-old Pole started the year in decent fashion, reaching the 4th round of a slam for the first time at the Aussie Open.
A defensive baseliner by nature, Frech had put plenty of work into becoming more of an attacking threat (and it succeeded). The results unfortunately dried up after that. She did reach the quarters in Nottingham but that was followed by a five-match losing streak.
She then produced a season-saving performance, fishing runner-up to Magda Linette in the Prague final (in what was the first all-Pole WTA final in the Open Era). She did pick up her first hardcourt quarterfinal of the year at the recent Monterrey Open (losing to US Open champ Emma Navarro in a tight three-set affair).
She was disappointingly bundled out of the US Open by Greet Minnen but she just eased past Bektas in straight-sets in her opener.
20-year-old American Ashlynn Krueger hasn’t kicked on in the way she would have imagined this season. She won last year’s Japan Open and seemed set for a meteoric rise in the game. But recent results will offer her some encouragement.
She reached the 3rd round of a WTA 1000 event for the 2nd time this season in Toronto. She then produced her career-best Grand Slam showing, reaching the 3rd round of the US Open (she had never previously won a Grand Slam main-draw match).
Over six feet tall, Krueger generates effortless power and is able to dictate matches with her serve (as evidenced by a 71% first-serve win percentage against Maria in her opener). Krueger is inconsistent but you cannot doubt her potential: she has beaten the trio of Osaka, Vekic and Andreeva in the past month.
The Verdict: Krueger to win in straight sets 1/1
This will be their 3rd career meeting, and they currently share the spoils at one win apiece. Krueger won their most recent meeting, easing past the American in Rome earlier this year.
But that was on clay and Krueger absolutely demolished the Pole when they met at Indian Wells last year. The speed of these courts will perfectly suit the American and I anticipate a routine win.
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