After a couple of disappointing performances in recent tournaments, women’s World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova will look to get back on track at the 2017 Western & Southern Open. However, the Czech will have some strong competition for the Cincinnati Masters crown. Let’s check out which ones to look out for with our preview below.
It’s been a rough couple of tournaments for the reigning women’s No. 1. After falling in the second round at Wimbledon, Pliskova once again had an earlier-than-expected exit at the Canadian Masters as she fell to Caroline Wozniacki. The Czech just hasn’t found an answer for the Dane. Pliskova is now just 2-5 all-time against Wozniacki, with two of those losses coming this season.
However, Pliskova did beat Wozniacki in the final at Doha, which is her lone title of the year thus far. She’s also done pretty well on hard court in general, as she’s gone 23-5 on the surface this season. Despite her recent struggles, she should still be the woman to beat in Cincy.
Simona Halep
It’s been a season of falling short for Halep. The World No. 2 has a stellar 35-11 record this season, which was mostly buoyed by an impressive 16-2 record on clay. However, she only has one tournament win to show for her troubles even though she’s made the quarterfinals in each of her last nine tournaments.
She recently reached the semifinals of the Canadian Open before getting knocked out by Elina Svitolina. That was Halep’s best performance on hard court season, as she’s gone just 10-6 on the surface. That should be somewhat concerning, and even though she’s got good odds to win in Cincy, another early exit is also a distinct possibility given her recent form.
Johanna Konta
Konta made an inauspicious return to hard court as she crashed out in the first round of the Canadian Open to Ekaterina Makarova. However, look for the British No. 1 to bounce back quickly in Cincy. Konta is an impressive 19-4 on the season on hard court. That includes her two titles this year at Sydney and Miami. Her win at Miami was especially impressive as she knocked out Halep, Venus Williams, and Wozniacki to claim the title.
Sleeper
Elina Svitolina
Svitolina is having a dream season thus far. The 22-year-old is 41-8 on the season and improved to 18-4 on hard court after winning the Canadian Open. She definitely earned that championship, as she brought down four of the top 12 players in the world (Venus Williams, Garbine Muguruza, Halep, and Wozniacki) en route to the title.
That’s already her fourth tournament win of the season, tying her mark over the previous three years. No one should be sleeping on the World No. 5 after such an impressive performance, and even with another stacked field, she should be a strong contender to claim another championship in Cincinnati.
Long Shot
Lucie Safarova
Safarova is coming off a respectable quarterfinal showing at the Canadian Open. The 30-year-old showed she’s still capable of bringing it as she brought down World No. 11 Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets in the second round. She improved to 29-15 on the season, and 12-6 on hard court.
Safarova is a slight -105 underdog in her first-round match against Sloane Stephens, who knocked her out in Toronto. But if she gets past the American, she is a decent long shot pick to make it much deeper in the tournament.
Writer’s Prediction
Konta rises above the rest of the pack as she claims her third hard court title of the season at Cincy.
