Radwanska Leads 6 of Top 10 Women at Stuttgart; Istanbul; WTA Previews

PORSCHE TENNIS GRAND PRIX
Stuttgart, Germany; Surface: clay
ADHEREL
Seeds: Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Carla Suarez Navarro, Lucie Safarova

Floaters: Andrea Petkovic, Sara Errani, Ana Ivanovic, Karolina Pliskova, Alize Cornet, Ekaterina Makarova, Sabine Lisicki, Annika Beck

Notes: Strong field featuring six of the Top 10…The Top 4 seeds receive opening-round byes…Lots of floaters in the draw and tough opening-round match-ups including (1) Radwanska vs. Petkovic, (8) Safarova vs. Pliskova in an all-Czech, (6) Vinci vs. Makarova, (3) Muguruza vs. Lisicki, and (2) Kerber vs. the riser Beck in an all-German…Wildcards went to Germans Anna-Lena Friedsam and Julia “Gorgeous” Goerges…An all-star roster pulled from the event: Maria Sharapova (doping suspension), Belinda Bencic, Madison Keys, and Miami finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova…Kerber beat Wozniacki (who is currently sidelined with injury) in last year’s final…Former champs in the field are Kerber (2015) and Goerges (2011).

TEB BNP PARIBAS INSTANBUL CUP
Istanbul, TURKEY; Surface: clay

Seeds: Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Yanina Wickmayer, Lesia Tsurenko, Kirsten Flipkens, Danka Kovinic, Nao Hibino, Kateryna Bondarenko, Johanna Larsson

Floaters: Donna Vekic

Notes: No Top 30 players in the field…The draw was brutalized by player pull-outs, most notably former No. 1s Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki, and Camila Giorgi, Lucie Hradecka, and Brits Laura Robson and Heather Watson…Tough start for (4) Flipkens against the rising Croat Vekic…Wildcards were awarded to Turkey’s Ayla Aksu and Ipek Soylu, and the Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska…In last year’s final Tsurenko defeated Urszula Radwanska…Tsurenko is the lone former champ in the field.

 

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