Our Tennis guru previews selected round of 32 fixtures from the WTA Tour's Volvo Car Open which takes place at the Family Circle Tennis Centre.
WTA Tour 2019 | WTA Premier
Volvo Car Open (Charleston Open)
Family Circle Tennis Centre
Selected Round of 32 Matches | 3 April 2019
Allie Klick (29/10)
vs Belinda Bencic (2/9)
The rejuvenation of Belinda Bencic over the last few months has been one of the most compelling narratives in an endlessly curious WTA Tour. The Swiss star captured her 2nd consecutive Hopman Cup alongside Roger Federer to start the ball rolling. She then reached the semi-finals in Hobart prior to a creditable 3rd round showing in Melbourne. But it was the Dubai title that really underlined her massive potential. She beat four top ten opponents en route to capturing the Dubai title. She beat Sabalenka, Halep, Svitolina and Kvitova in a giant-killing spree that left many speechless. She followed that up with another whirlwind turn at Indian Wells, reaching the semi-final in an event that included a mauling of World Number One Naomi Osaka. She had an early exit last week in Miami and will perhaps not enjoy the conversion to clay this week.
American Allie Kiick has a fascinating and fairly tragic backstory coming into this match. The 23-year-old shares a similar background to Coco Vandeweghe, belonging to a sporting family dynasty: her father was a Miami Dolphins running back. But her promising ITF career was abruptly shot down in 2015 by disease and injury. She was diagnosed with stage II skin cancer and debilitating knee injuries. She missed over three years of competition. But she had some encouraging results last year, reaching three ITF Finals. Crucially, all those finals came on clay. She loves this surface and will be looking to do a spot of giant-killing herself this week. She thrashed Parmentier emphatically in the opening round, highlighting her potential on this surface. She reached an ITF semi-final in February and could prove a dangerous opponent this week.
This will actually be their 2nd meeting, with Belinda Bencic claiming a victory in last year’s Oracle Challenger Series. Bencic went into that event as the number one seed and was pushed to three sets by the plucky American and that was on Bencic’s beloved hardcourt. I’m always in the search of the mythical upset and this one just might be one such match. Klick loves the clay and Bencic may underestimate an opponent with limited full tour success.
Madison Keys (9/20)
vs Tatiana Maria (16/10)
Madison Keys has made a huge impact on the Grand Slam stage in recent years. The 2017 US Open finalist managed to reach the semi-final stage of two slams last year: the French Open and Flushing Meadows once again. This at least shows she has all-court potential. But a dearth of consistency in regular season events highlights the frustration that often comes with the tall, powerful American. And her form of late has been quite shocking. She lost to Sam Stosur in the opening round of Indian Wells - Sam Stosur has been struggling to pick up any wins on tour of late. Keys is a big game player who perhaps struggles to replicate that intensity in these matches. Having said that, the American did reach the semi-final here last season.
German Tatiana Maria has been a competent journeywoman during her time on the WTA Tour and ITF Tour. She has 15 ITF titles to her name as well as one WTA Title. That title crucially came last season, with Maria capturing the Mallorca Open title on grass. She actually enters this event on the back of some decent form. She had a very competent week in Miami, reaching the final 16 in a brutally hard event. She actually beat Sloane Stephens en route to that excellent finish. She recently reached the semi-finals of the Oracle Challenger Series. She also played well here last season, losing in a tight three-set match to the recently revived Ashleigh Barty.
This will also be their 2nd meeting, with Madison Keys comfortably beating the German during that fated 2017 US Open campaign. I think that there is plenty of room for an upset here. Maria is a wily old pro and seems to be in a good vein of form. Madison Keys has literally no form to speak of and has played very little tennis of late.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets.
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