Sloane Stephens
Sloane Stephens will face the challenge of Nadia Podoroska in the opening round of the Italian Open
Sloane Stephens is coming into this tournament following a title-winning campaign at the Saint-Malo tournament in France. She has been in fine form and dropped just one set during her entire campaign last week. The former US Open Champion has had a pretty average season so far but she will certainly draw confidence from her performance in France and would look to carry forward this positive momentum to Italy.
Stephens is currently ranked World no.36 in WTA singles and well past her prime. However, the former World No.3 has the experience and skills to win a WTA tournament. The American is not seeded at the Italian Open but she is one of the dark horses and if things fall in place, she certainly has the ability to clinch the title.
Podoroska is more active on the ITF tour and has played only a handful of WTA senior tournaments. The 26-year-old is coming to Italy at the back of a second-round exit from the WTA 125 Catalonia tournament.
She has been in decent touch at the ITF level, registering a Semi-final finish at the ITF Switzerland competition last month besides a title win at Copa Oster earlier this year. However, the Italian Open is levels above the events she generally participates in and it remains to be seen how quickly she can adapt to the demands of the senior level.
Date – Wednesday, 10th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Round of 128 match
Stephens and Podoroska have never played each other before on the WTA tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, Stephens is the outright favourite both in terms of form and experience. However, one can certainly not rule out Podoroska and the Argentine should put up a tough fight. We are expecting a close encounter with Stephens eventually coming out on top in three sets.
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