WTA Hobart

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2017 WTA Sydney and Hobart Preview and Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

The final stop before the Australian open sees the WTA tour stop at Sydney and Hobart for a pair of events leading up to the first Grand Slam of the year. Here is a break down of the draws for this week’s tournaments.

WTA Sydney

Angelique Kerber and Agnieszka Radwanska look to put their disappointing opening weeks of the season in Sydney. The world number one and three are the top seeds in a stacked field with six of the worlds top ten competing.

Top Quarter:
Kerber lost out in a three set battle with Svitolina last week and is in search of form as she heads to Melbourne to defend her Australian Open crown. As the top seed, the German has a BYE into the second round where she will face either Daria Kasatkina or Timea Babos. Both present different challenges as the Russian is known more for her consistent baseline play whilst the Hungarian has a big serve and powerful ground strokes. Johanna Konta saw a potential title win slip from her fingers in Shezhen last week, but 2016’s most improved player will look to right that wrong in Sydney. She has a good path to the quarter final with Daria Gavrilova being the most difficult possible opponent. The Brit has what it takes to beat the world number one, but Kerber might prove to be a little too good like in the Australian Open last year.

Prediction: Kerber d. Konta

Second Quarter:
Dominika Cibulkova was another contender for the most improve player of 2016. Her excellent year saw the Slovak finish fifth in the world rankings and win the WTA Finals in Singapore. Cibulkova is a former finalist in Melbourne and a good run in Sydney will go a long way towards rekindling that form. Laura Siegemund is the opening opponent with the winner of Eugenie Bouchard vs Shuai Zhang awaiting in round two. It is a good draw to the quarter finals for the third seed where she could face Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Russian meets an out of sorts Irina Begu in the first round before facing either Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Sam Stosur in round two. A potential Kuznetsova vs Cibulkova match could be interesting as these two are dark horses for the Australian Open title.

Prediction: Kuznetsova d. Cibulkova

Third Quarter:
Karolina Pliskova was the player of the week as she crusied to the Brisbane title to kick start her 2017. That sort of hitting will make her one of the favourites for the Australian Open, but first she must tackle the Sydney field. The fourth seed faces Sloane Stephens in a difficult round one match-up. Fellow Czech Barbora Strycova or Ekaterina Makarova await in round two before a potential rematch with Elina Svitolina in the quarter finals. The Ukrainian will feel a little de-ja-vu where she meets Monica Puig in the first round. The second match could see a battle of the youngsters with Belinda Bencic who is still looking to re-climb the rankings after an injury filled 2016. The chances of a Pliskova-Svitolina rematch are fairly high, but a change in result is unlikely if their Brisbane match is anything to go by. Pliskova was fairly dominant in that match and Svitolina did not offer much resistance.

Prediction: Pliskova d. Svitolina

Fourth Quarter:
Radwanska’s main goal in 2017 will be the break her Grand Slam duck and it seems like this year might be her best chance yet with the dominance of Serena Williams no longer having a stronghold on the tour. The Pole needs to head into Melbourne with good confidence however, and winning Sydney will do that no harm. Radwanska gets a BYE into round two where she is scheduled to face either Roberta Vinci or a qualifier. A match with the Italian could be quite the slice-fest if it is to happen. Elena Vesnina will look to bounce back from her disappointing defeat in Brisbane in Sydney as she enters as the sixth seeded player. She faces big serving Coco Vandeweghe before likely meeting Caroline Wozniacki in round two, it could be another early exit for the Russian. It is hard to see past Radwanska making it through the section if playing well though. I can see her getting through Wozniacki in the quarter finals to set up a semi final clash with Pliskova.

Prediction: Radwanska def. Wozniacki

Semi Finals:
Cibulkova def. Kerber
Radwanska def. Pliskova

It is hard to predict events before Grand Slams because the top players are liable to withdraw if they feel any sort of knock or fatigue. Pliskova went all the way In Brisbane so it is hard to see her going too far here ahead of the Australian Open. Kerber will also have her sights set on defending the title there and could withdraw too.

Final:
Radwanska def. Cibulkova

Cibulkova has the power to hit through Radwanska but does she have the consistency to keep it up and in the match? The Pole is difficult to beat and I see her coming through this week.

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WTA Hobart

Hobart rarely boasts the same calibre of players as Sydney, but it is seen as a good opportunity for a young title winner or a lower ranked player to claim WTA success. Kiki Bertens is the top seed here, let’s get to it.

Top Quarter:
The top seed faces Germany’s Annika Beck ion the opening round of Hobart. Beck is a consistent player from the baseline so the Dutch player will have to work for her victory. Galina Voskoboeva or Pauline Parmentier will await the winner. Kristina Mladenovic heads to Hobart off the back of a good Hopman cup run. The French woman struggled in 2016 so will like to kick off her first WTA tour action with a good run in Hobart. She faces qualifiers in her first two matches before likely meeting Bertens in the quarter finals.

Prediction: Bertens d. Mladenovic

Second Quarter:
Japan dominates the second quarter with the two seeded players in this section being from the land of the rising sun. Misaki Doi will be expected to get past Lizette Cabrera and set up a potential clash with Francesca Schiavone in round two. Naomi Osaka is the other seed and is involved in arguably the pick of the round one matches with Andrea Petkovic. The Japanese could see Hobart as a good chance at claiming a first WTA title and will be many peoples favourite to get out of the section providing she is fit enough after withdrawing from Brisbane last week.

Prediction: Doi d. Osaka

Third Quarter:
The third quarter is packed with former Grand Slam finalists and top ten players, but the top seed in the quarter is Monica Niculescu who faces Jelena Jankovic in the opening round. The winner will likely meet another tricky player Kirtsen Flipkens in the second round, but they will both feel confident they can overcome the Belgian. Speaking of former Grand Slam finalists, Sara Errani and Lucie Safarova are on a round two collision course. The winner is likely to face either Niculescu or Jankovic in the quarter finals.

Prediction: Safarova d. Jankovic

Fourth Quarter:
Alize Cornet started her 2017 season with a final run in Brisbane. The Frenchwoman is looking to re-find her top 20 form and defending her Hobart title will help achieve that goal. Cornet faces big serving twin of Karolina Pliskova, Kristyna in the opening round. Lesia Tsurenko or Johanna Larsson await the winner so it is a tough draw for the defending champion. Anastasija Sevastova’s run at the US Open was one of the stories of 2016, but the Latvian will not settle for that, she will look to kick on and win titles. As the second seed here she has a good chance of doing so, but first she must beat Shelby Rogers then Lara Arruabarrena or a qualifier before potentially meeting Cornet in the quarter finals.

Prediction: Cornet def. Sevastova

Semi Finals:

Bertens def. Doi
Safarova def. Cornet

Safarova will be keen to re-climb the rankings this year and a good run in Hobart is a good place to start. Cornet might be a little tired after a good run in Brisbane the week prior. Doi vs Bertens would be a close match but I see Bertens just edging that and making the final.

Final:
Safarova def. Bertens

On her day I feel that Safarova is just the better player, and given her wider big match experience I expect the Czech to win this final if it is to happen.

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2016 WTA Hobart Preview and Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

After an injury struck first week of the season, the Australian Open preparation continues with tournaments in Sydney and Hobart. Whilst a lot of the bigger names elect to play in Sydney, Hobart has often been a place where lesser known players pick up an International title.

The Hobart International was formed in 1994 and has seen many champions including Kim Clijsters, Petra Kvitova and world number three Garbine Muguruza. Heather Watson was the winner in 2015.

The Hobart International
Tier: International
Location: Hobart, Australia
Surface: Hard
Prize Money: $226,750
Date: January 10th-16th 2016

The eight seeded players (Ranking)
1. Sloane Stephens (30)
2. Camila Giorgi (35)
3. Dominika Cibulkova (38)
4. Monica Niculescu (39)
5. Madison Brengle (40)
6. Barbora Strycova (42)
7. Alize Cornet (43)
8. Alison Van Uytvanck (44)

As expected there is not many big names with no top 20 players competing

First round matches to watch

(2) Camila Giorgi vs Zarina Diyas

Any match with Giorgi is unpredictable due to the aggressive nature of her came. The Italian goes for every ball and her serve either hits the mark or misfires in all sorts of directions.

Diyas is as opposite as you can get from Giorgi. The Kazakh does not have the weapons but she is consistent and will not give you many free points- that is why this match is interesting.

The world number 52 won their only previous meeting in Miami two years a go. Will Giorgi be able to overpower her opponent this time, or will Diyas be too consistent for the Italian?

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(3) Dominika Cibulkova vs Joanna Konta

One of the potential winners of the title that is not seeding is Konta. The Brit had a great second half to 2015, scoring twins over the world number three Muguruza and reaching the second week of the US Open. Can she pull another upset against Cibulkova?

Neither player made a great start to 2016 but will see this tournament as the perfect chance to get some pre-Australian Open momentum. This will be their first meeting, so there are not previous matches to go by when predicting this contest. It should be a good one.

Draw Analysis

First Quarter: Top seed Sloane Stephens is coming into Hobart with some good momentum after a title run in Auckland last week. The American opens against Japan’s Misaki Doi before meeting local wildcard Jarmila Wolfe or a qualifier. A good draw for Stephens to get to the last eight.

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Alize Cornet is still wondering what happened to her ranking in 2015, falling form the top 30 to outside the top 40. The Frenchwoman’s climb back up the rankings could start in Hobart where she faces Denisa Allertova in round one. A qualifier or lucky loser will be certain for the winner in round two.

Second Quarter: Monica Niculescu brings her unique game to Hobart as the fourth seed. The Romanian has a fairly tough draw however with Christina McHale in round one then either Heather Watson or Teliana Pereira in round two.

Another player with an unusual gamestyle is Barbora Strycova. The sixth seed faces Johanna Larsson in round one with a potential round two match with rising youngster Margarita Gasparyan. The Russian faces wildcard Maddison Inglis in her opener.

Third quarter: Third seed Cibulkova has not quite been the same player since injury but her comeback trails continues in Hobart. Round one is a tough one against Konta with Danka Kovinic likely for round two. The Montenegran faces wildcard Kimberly Birrell in round one.

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Fifth seed Madison Brengle got a lucky round one draw against a qualifier or lucky loser, but round two should be a bigger test. No matter who wins between Mona Barthel and Annika Beck, a German will advance to the next round. Barthel is a former champion here but pulled out of her match last week with injury.

Fourth Quarter: As mentioned previously, Giorgi is one of the most erratic players on tour. But when her game clicks she is one of the most dangerous too. Which side will we see in Hobart. Diyas will provide a consistent test in round one with Nao Hibino or a qualifier awaiting in round two.

Alison Van Uytvanck will be a name to look out for in 2016 given her Roland Garros run last year. The Belgian faces fellow youngster Carina Witthoeft in an interesting round one match-up. Eugenie Bouchard is always a name to look out for and she faces Bethanie Mattek Sands in another interesting opener. A stacked quarter here.

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Predictions

Quarter Finals:
Stephens def. Cornet
Watson def. Gasparyan
Cibulkova def. Beck
Mattek Sands def. Giorgi

Semi Finals:
Watson def. Stephens
Cibulkova def. Mattek Sands

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Final:
Cibulkova def. Watson

The defending champion will make another run but will ultimate lose out to the third seed in the final. Cibulkova gets her 2016 up and going and gets the perfect momentum boost for the Australian Open.

Niall Clarke (Sofia)

2015 WTA Hobart Preview and Predictions

Posted by Admin on January 10, 2015

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2015 WTA Hobart Preview and Predictions
Niall Clarke, Tennis Atlantic

2015 WTA Hobart Preview

WTA Hobart

Many stars of the WTA venture to Hobart, Australia, to continue their preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne.

The tournament was launched in 1994. Interestingly it has produced a different winner every year. Hobart is usually won by rising stars or relatively unknown players who look to kick start their season. Past champions include the likes of Petra Kvitova, and Kim Clijsters. The 2014 edition saw young star Garbine Muguruza win her maiden title. The Spaniard came through qualifying and dominated the field en route to winning the Hobart crown.

Hobart International
WTA International Series
Hobart, Australia
January 11-January 17, 2015
Prize Money: $250,000

Seeds (WTA ranking in parentheses)

1: Casey Dellacqua (29)
2. Zarina Diyas (32)
3. Camila Giorgi (33)
*4. Vavara Lepchenko (34)
5. Sloane Stephens (35)
6. Klara Koukalova (39)
7. Mona Barthel (41)
8. Alison Riske (43)
9: Roberta Vinci (44)

*Lepchenko withdrew and will be replaced by a lucky loser

Unfortunately, the original number 4 seed, Vavara Lepchenko was forced to withdraw from the tournament. She has been replaced by a lucky loser, and Stephens is now the number 4 seed. Roberta Vinci is the next highest ranked player and therefore gets seeding.

First round matchups to watch:

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(1)Casey Dellacqua vs. Lauren Davis

The number one seed will return from Hopman Cup duty for the home Aussies in Perth to square off against American Lauren Davis in Hobart. What makes this match interesting is the respective form of the two players leading into the event. Dellacqua struggled in the Hopman cup, not winning any of her singles matches. Meanwhile, Davis started the year well by reaching the semi finals in Auckland before losing convincingly to compatriot Venus Williams. There is big potential of an upset here, so this certainly a match to keep an eye on. Dellacqua will no doubt be the home crowd favourite, but look for the 21 year old American to silence them.

Monica Puig vs. Kaia Kanepi

Not all interesting matches have to feature a seeded player, do they? Hobart has produced some interesting round one matches this year, but this particular match may fall under the radar. It is another one of those ‘Youth vs experience’ matches with Puig (21) facing Kanepi (29). Kanepi started the season with a Quarterfinal run in Brisbane, losing to Ana Ivanovic. Puig on the other hand lost her opener in Auckland to Marina Erakovic. Expect the Estonian to try and use her power to overwhelm Puig, who in return will look to use that power to counter Kanepi. I expect another tight 3 setter here that could go either way.

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Top Half:

The top half of the Hobart draw is stacked with talent and potential winners. Number one seed, Casey Dellacqua will no doubt be one of those players looking to take the Hobart crown. However, the Aussie doesn’t come into the tournament in good form and might get dumped out earlier than you’d expect from a top seed. The winner of the Dellacqua-Davis will likely make the Quarter Final where I expect either Mona Barthel or Kirsten Flipkens will be waiting. Barthel is talented, yet inconsistent, and has also recently suffered from an injury. The 7^th seed could be another player who is dumped out earlier than expected. I can see unseeded players, Davis and Flipkens making the Quarter finals here.

The second quarter is headlined by number three seed Camila Giorgi. The big hitting Italian is another young star who can do a lot of damage. The 23 year old will face Australian wildcard Storm Sanders in the first round. It should be a relatively comfortable match for Giorgi who should over power her opponent. Puig or Kanepi will await her in the second round in another potential slobberknocker (Copyright WWE’s Jim Ross). No matter which one of them advances, it will no doubt be one of the matches of the week should. Interestingly, I expect Kanepi to beat Giorgi, and Giorgi to dispatch Puig despite the 2-0 head to head in favour of the Puerto Rican. If I was to hazard a guess, I would say Kanepi makes the Quarter Finals. Giorgi’s form is unknown and Puig lost her opener last week. There, the Estonian will likely meet Czech Republic’s Klara Koukalova. The number six seed was a finalist last year so knows these courts well. She will face Kurumi Nara in an interesting round one battle. I expect the 32 year old to advance in a tight match despite a round one loss last week. Koukalova’s experience will likely guide her through to the quarterfinals, where I believe she will face Kaia Kanepi. Out of all the likely opponents I expect the Czech to bow out at this stage as the other section of this quarter is just too strong.

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Bottom half:

Zarina Diyas is the number two seed and therefore the automatic favourite to advance from this half. But tennis isn’t that simple, especially in the WTA. Diyas faces a qualifier or lucky loser in the first round, which isn’t as simple as it may seem. Qualifiers can often be streaky players, so It will be tough, but I believe Diyas will pull through. Daniela Hantuchova should await in the second round, but the lottery of the qualifier/lucky loser also awaits the Slovak in round one. I will stay safe and predict Diyas defeats Hantuchova in the second round. Any of the four potential quarterfinal opponents for the Kazakh could realistically make it to the last eight. The seeded player is Alison Riske. The 24 year old got off to a bad start in Brisbane where she was dumped out in the first round, so the American will look to kick start her 2015 with a win over fellow countrywoman Christina McHale. The world number 45 also lost in the first round of Brisbane, and will be looking for her first win of the season in Hobart. McHale lost to potential second round opponent Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in Brisbane. Baroni was the 2014 comeback player of the year and is the most experienced player out of the four. Her first round opponent is Bojana Jovanovski. The world number 57 lost to Kvitova in the Shenzhen 2^nd round, so her form is also unknown. I will go with experience here, and say Lucic Baroni faces Diyas in the Quarter finals after battling through Jovanovski and Riske.

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The 4^th seed is Sloane Stephens from the USA. The American was once a highly touted youngster, but she was unable to build on her 2013 form. Sloane will look to start her climb back up the rankings with a successful run in Hobart. The 21 year old lost to fellow American Lauren Davis in the 2^nd round of the ASB Classic, so doesn’t come into the event in any sort of form. She faces crafty Romanian Monica Niculescu in round one in Hobart. The 27 year old lost to Polona Hercog in the opening round in Shenzhen; a disappointing result for the Romanian. Sloane will be fairly confident of getting by Niculescu and her round two opponent, who I expect to be Heather Watson. The Brit will be returning from Hopman Cup duty, where she lost two of three matches, but I expect the 22 year old to squeeze past Magdalena Rybarikova. The replacement 5^th seed, or 9^th seed is experienced Italian Roberta Vinci. The 31 has one of the best slices in the game and will be a handful for her first round opponent, Olivia Rogowska. Vinci should be good enough to make the second round at least here, where she will face either Annika Beck or Jana Cepelova. Cepelova will be low on confidence after her thrashing at the hands of Venus Williams, so Beck will be the favourite to face Vinci In round two. Beck is one of the steadiest players on tour, but Vinci has more variety which will see her through to the Quarter finals.

Predictions

Semis:
Kanepi d. Davis
Diyas d. Stephens

Kanepi had a good week in Brisbane, and could have gone further that the Quarter Finals if it wasn’t for Ana Ivanovic. Davis went one further in Auckland, but lost comfortably to Venus Williams. I feel Kanepi will be a little too much for Davis here, and defeats the American in 3 sets. Diyas vs Stephens could be match of the tournament. Both are talented youngsters looking to really kick start their seasons by winning the Hobart title. Diyas is currently the higher ranked and better player of the two, so I will predict her to squeeze past Stephens in a very tight 3 setter.

Final:
Kanepi d. Diyas

The Estonian will build on a good Brisbane run to take the crown in the Hobart. Kanepi won their only previous meeting at Roland Garros in 2010. However, the Kazakh was raw at that time, so you can’t take much from that match. Diyas will be hoping to win her first WTA title here in her second final. That time she lost to Sam Stosur in Osaka, and I expect something similar here. Kanepi’s experience will see her beat Diyas in 2 or 3 tight sets and win the Hobart title.

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