Although most of the ladies from the will take a breather from all the festivities at the French Open, the WTA Tour action never stops, as a handful of the Tour’s contenders are still set to take the courts this week at the Ricoh Open.
Who are the names worth keeping an eye on at s-Hertogenbosch? Let’s find out below.
2017 Ricoh Open Women’s Singles Predictions and Preview
Favorites: Kristina Mladenovic and Coco Vandeweghe
France’s Kristina Mladenovic earned the second seed at the Ricoh Open with fantastic momentum heading into the tournament. She went as deep as the quarterfinal round at Roland Garros, but not before racking up four other final-round appearances for the season. By the way, one of those appearances resulted into the 24-year-old’s maiden WTA Tour main-draw victory, trumping Yulia Putinseva at St. Petersberg back in January.
Mladenovic has got to watch out for Coco Vandeweghe at this week’s tournament, though. The highest-seeded American in the tournament has a head-to-head record of 4-1 against Mladenovic, including last year’s title-clinching victory at the final round of the Ricoh Open. If there’s one place where Vandeweghe can rekindle her fire amidst her relatively lackluster 2017 campaign, it would be none other than here at s-Hertogenbosch as she aims for a rare repeat at this week’s tournament.
Sleepers: Kiki Bertens and Camila Giorgi
The oddsmakers aren’t as high on Kiki Bertens following her quick second-round exit at Roland Garros at the hands of Catherine Bellis. Then again, the No. 3 seed at this week’s tournament still managed to take home the top prize at Nurenberg prior to the French Open, albeit that it was just an International-level WTA Tour event.
Meanwhile, Italy’s Camila Giorgi is already off to a good start at s-Hertogenbosch, having just defeated Varvara Lepchenko in the first round of action. By the way, the 25-year-old Giorgi is looking to win her her second-career Ricoh Open title, having won the event in 2015. She also defeated Bertens in the semifinal round of that year’s edition of the tournament en route to her first and only title on the WTA Tour’s main draw.
Long Shot: Petra Krejsova
227th-ranked Petra Krejsova just pulled off a shocker in the first round of the Ricoh Open by defeating World No. 60 Jelena Jankovic in straight sets. It was an impressive feat for the unheralded Czech, but don’t be too high on her chances at winning it all at this week’s tournament.
Although Krejsova has three final-round appearances and one win under her belt this year, all of her triumphs and performances in general were were from the ITF circuit. In fact, the Ricoh Open is her first-ever berth into a WTA Tour event, and it’s only a matter of time before the 26-year-old’s nerves will get the better of her playing at a bigger stage.
Writer’s Prediction
Vandeweghe continues her excellence in The Netherlands as she successfully defends her title at s-Hertogenbosch.
