A new tennis event in France, the Internationaux de Strasbourg, will begin before the French Open. This event may not have all the big names or top seeds, but it does have plenty of great players. The first round matches are filed with great matchups. As the French Open is a week away, many players are looking to prepare themselves and will want to be in top notch for Roland Garros. Here are the first round matches to look forward at the Internationaux de Strasbourg.
Kateřina Siniaková vs Bernarda Pera
The young Czech leads the head to head between these two with a comfortable three wins and zero loses against the American. Siniaková is in great form on the clay, whilst Pera has also impressed on this surface. This match promises to be another evenly fought match, with their previous three meetings having been close contests. Both come from early exits in Rome, but went far in the doubles action. reaching the quarterfinals. Expect the Czech to be aggressive and Pera as well. Both ladies will look to dominate with their serve, so it will be a great match.
Jeļena Ostapenko vs Lauren Davis
The American has the lead in this matchup as they have only played against each other once back in 2017 in Auckland. Both players haven’t played great tennis, especially Ostapenko. We know that she can produce high level tennis as she has won the French Open before. Ostapenko will look to dictate with her heavy hitting and strong serve. Davis will look to stop Ostapenko with her variations of shots. This will be a great even match as we will see both players wanting to improve in their game.
Polona Hercog vs Alizé Cornet
The French player dominates their head to head with five wins and only one defeat. Last time they met was in 2018 at the Volvo Car Open in Charleston and Hercog took that match in straight sets. The Slovenian comes in great form as she produced a big win in Rome eliminating Kiki Bertens in straight sets. She made the quarter-finals in Istanbul and will try to continue her fine form. This will be the French player first match since the US Open, so expect her to be a little rusty as she is transitioning from hard courts to clay courts. Although, we all know she can produce great tennis when she’s on a streak. Expect a great match filled with drama and excitement.
Nao Hibino vs Sloane Stephens
This will be their first encounter between the two players. The American player is the clear favorite as she has a great history in clay tournaments. Her heavy hitting will be a problem for the Japanese. Let’s see if Hibino can keep up with the American who will try to find her best tennis and get back to the top level she once was a couple of years ago. We’ll see if Hibino can produce a huge upset or if the American can breeze through this match.
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Hsieh Su-Wei
Crafty Hsieh Su-Wei leads the head to head between both players with two wins and cero loses. Both wins came in the same year of 2018 in hard courts. Both come in this match with first round exits, so they will try to redeem themselves in this tournament. Expect some crazy and incredible shots from Hsieh Su-Wei. Alexandrova will look to empower her opponent with heavy hitting. This will be a great match as the Russian has raised her level since the last time these two met.
Magda Linette vs Pauline Parmentier
The French player leads the series among the two with four wins and just one loss. She comes from playing an ITF tournament in France, while Linette comes from playing in Rome losing to Elise Mertens in the second round. The Polish player comes in with more tennis under her belt, so we’ll see if that comes in handy. Expect Linette to take charge in this match, but Parmentier will use her experience to come through.
Last Preparation Before the French Open
All of the players will look forward to play as much tennis as they can as this will be the last tournament before Roland Garros. The top seeds of this event are Karolina Pliskova, Elina Svitolina, Kiki Bertens, Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Amanda Anisimova, and Sloane Stephens. This is a great warm up event that will get all of the players in form before the final Grand Slam of the year.
