Some of the top women’s tennis players in the world will head to Birmingham continue their Wimbledon tune-up in the 2017 Aegon Classic. Britain’s own Johanna Konta and Petra Kvitova will enter the tournament as favorites, but these three sleepers have the potential to cause a bit of an upset.
Svitolina is well on course toward having her best ever season on tour. The talented 22-year-old has already claimed four titles this year: on the hard courts of Taipei City and Dubai, and on the clay courts of Istanbul and the Rome Masters. She’s also coming off a strong quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros before falling to World No. 5 Simona Halep.
However, the one surface Svitolina has yet to find success in is grass. She has just two wins on grass over in her tour career. But based on current form, she should be able to add at least a couple of wins to that record, and is a possible contender to grab yet another title.
Dominika Cibulkova
Cibulkova’s underwhelming season continues. The World No. 4 shockingly crashed out of the first round of the Ricoh Open to 20-year-old World No. 180 Antonia Lottner. It’s just been one disappointment after another for the Slovak, who has been unable to recapture last year’s spectacular form which saw her win four titles.
However, a return to grass could be just what she needs to spark her season to life. She went 9-1 on grass last season as she won at Eastbourne and also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the second time in her career.
Cibulkova will immediately be tested in her first-round matchup against Lucie Safarova, where she is a slight EVEN odds underdog. However, she should be able to come out on top in that matchup. She holds the 5-3 edge over Safarova in their career head-to-heads, including a 2-1 advantage on grass.
Barbora Strycova
It’s been four years since Strycova’s last singles title on tour, and aside from a few trips to the semifinals, she hasn’t really come close to winning one this season. However, the World No. 17 did come the closest at this very same tournament last year as she lost in the final to Madison Keys.
Strycova has always been strong on grass, and has gone 18-8 over the last three years. Don’t sleep on the Czech from taking that extra step and finally ending her extended title drought at the grass courts of Birmingham.
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