The Queen's Cup, the first WTA warm-up tournament before Wimbledon, comes to an end tonight, and next week's WTA 500 Berlin, another key pre-Wimbledon warm-up event, is about to begin. Absent from the Queen's Cup, new French Open runner-up Sabalenka, new French Open champion Gauff, American star Pegula and Italian Cannon Paolini are the top four seeds. Despite Swiatek's absence, there was still no shortage of explosive points in the draw. Here's an analysis of the prospects for the first round of this tournament from the perspective of the drawing table, player status and grass adaptability.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka is in the top half of the quarter, with fifth seed Zheng Qinwen and former Wimbledon champion Rybakina both in the top half of the quarter, just reaching the semi-finals of the Queen's Cup, and former Wimbledon champion Rybakina. The Belarusian girl who has a bye in the first round will face a qualifier in the second round, and it should not be a problem to advance, but for the world No. 1 who has a mediocre grass record and has not yet warmed up on grass after the French Open, the real test may be in the third round: whether it is Zheng Qinwen, the Chinese golden flower who has just won a hot hand on the grass in the Queen's Cup, or Rybakina, the Grand Slam champion on grass, is a huge threat to Sabalenka. Of course, the biggest attraction of the first round of this quarter-zone is the showdown between Zheng Qinwen and Rybakina, and the winner will face a qualifier in the second round, so if you want to meet Sabalenka in the third round, you will have to beware of the appearance of dark horses.
The top 2/4 of the bracket is led by No.4 seed Paulini, who is home to some of the biggest names in the bracket. The Italian small steel cannon had a bye in the first round, so the two key matchups in the first round are: Russian titan Schneider vs Croatian beauty Vekic, Wimbledon champion Vondrousova vs new Australian Open champion Keys. Schneider and Vekic were rivals in last year's grass-court warm-up tournament in the Bad Homburg final, with the winner being the Russian. However, Vekic then reached the semi-finals for the first time at Wimbledon that year, so the first-round clash between the two grass court masters must have been quite exciting. The other first-round clash between the two Grand Slam champions, with 2023 Wimbledon champion Vondrousova needling to say that she has a lot of grass-court prowess, but injuries have left her missing a number of tournaments this season, which could affect her performance. Case, on the other hand, has returned to strong form this season, winning the Australian Open, although he missed several 1000-level tournaments in between, but still reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, and reached the semi-finals of the Queen's Cup this week, indicating that he has basically adapted to the rhythm of grass. Therefore, the author is more optimistic that Keys can win this first-round matchup.
The bottom three-quarters are led by No.3 seed Pegula, with Andreeva, Samsonova, Naomi Osaka and Anisimova all in the zone. Pegula had a first-round bye, and the lineup for the other three first-round matchups is as follows: Naomi Osaka vs. Samsonova, Andreeva vs. Frecy, and Anisimova vs. Andreescu. Andreeva has been in great form this season and Anisimova has just reached the final against Zheng Qinwen in the Queen's Cup, and both are a threat to Pegula, so the third seed could face a tough battle in the third round.
The final quarters are dominated by No.2 seed Gauff, who has a weaker squad than the first three, with Gauff having a first-round bye, a potential second-round opponent against Kasatkina, and the Australian's first-round opponent being a qualifier. The other two matchups in the first round are: eighth seed Badosa vs. Liss and Koschuk vs. Navarro. Gauff, who has just won the French Open, even if grass is always his relative shortcoming, and his best Wimbledon result is only in the fourth round, but the possibility of breaking through from this zone is still very high.
As the sentinel of Wimbledon, the victory or defeat is not the only focus, but the players' grass feel and physical distribution are more worthy of attention. It is hoped that all the participating players can adapt to the environment and rhythm of the venue as soon as possible in this tournament, and fully warm up for the upcoming Wimbledon.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Mei)