Cincinnati 2018: Wednesday's Order of Play and Match Points
MATCH POINTS
No.3 seed Sloane Stephens' only previous meeting with Tatjana Maria was in the second round of the 2012 US Open. Stephens, then a 19-year-old playing her second US Open, defeated Maria, who was playing her last US Open before marriage and motherhood, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2.
Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber resumes a rivalry with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova that is currently all square at 6-6 - though the Russian leads 5-3 on outdoor hard courts. Pavlyuchenkova dominated Kerber in 2017, winning all three of their encounters that year, but the 2016 Cincinnati runner-up got her revenge in the third round of Miami this year, triumphing 6-4, 6-4.
Defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza starts her campaign against Lesia Tsurenko, whom she leads 2-1 in the head-to-head. The Ukrainian won their first encounter 7-5, 6-1 in the second round of Toronto in 2015, but the No.7 seed has since taken their meetings in Wuhan last year and - via retirement - in the fourth round of Roland Garros this year.
No.13 seed Madison Keys and Camila Giorgi have alternated victories over the course of their previous five matches, with the American leading 3-2 overall having won their most recent encounter 6-4, 6-3 in Charleston this year. They have only played once on outdoor hard courts - their first ever meeting in the ITF $50,000 event in New Braunfels, Texas in 2012, which Keys won 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. In between, they have split meetings on indoor hard courts (Giorgi winning a Fed Cup first-round rubber in 2014 and Keys taking a first-round match in Linz in 2016), and the Italian has triumphed in their only grass match, in the second round of Wimbledon in 2017.
20-year-old Aryna Sabalenka, the youngest player in the Top 50, faces 2016 champion Karolina Pliskova for the second time in three months today. The Belarusian won their only previous encounter in the Eastbourne quarterfinals, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) - her maiden Top 10 win - and went on to reach her first Premier final.
World No.1 Simona Halep is the only Top 20 player yet to lose in the opening round of any tournament this season. The 2015 and 2017 Cincinnati finalist will seek to continue this streak against Ajla Tomljanovic, whom she will play for the first time.
ORDER OF PLAY (all courts start 11am)
CENTER
After 1 ATP match
Not before 1pm
Lesia TSURENKO (UKR) vs Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP) [7]
After 1 ATP match
Not before 7pm
Simona HALEP (ROU) [1] vs [Q] Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS)
GRANDSTAND
[Q] Tatjana MARIA (GER) vs Sloane STEPHENS (USA) [3]
After 1 ATP match
Angelique KERBER (GER) [4] vs Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS)
After 1 ATP match
HAN Xinyun (CHN) / Darija JURAK (CRO) vs Kaitlyn CHRISTIAN (USA) / Sabrina SANTAMARIA (USA)
STADIUM 3
After 3 ATP matches
Kiki BERTENS (NED) vs Caroline WOZNIACKI (DEN) [2]
[WC] Amanda ANISIMOVA (USA) vs [Q] Petra MARTIC (CRO)
COURT 10
Karolina PLISKOVA (CZE) [9] vs Aryna SABALENKA (BLR)
After 1 ATP match
[LL] Camila GIORGI (ITA) vs Madison KEYS (USA) [13]
COURT 4
Elise MERTENS (BEL) [15] vs [Q] Rebecca PETERSON (SWE)
After 1 ATP match
Maria SAKKARI (GRE) vs Anett KONTAVEIT (EST)
Shuko AOYAMA (JPN) / Lidziya MAROZAVA (BLR) vs Timea BABOS (HUN) / Kristina MLADENOVIC (FRA) [2]
COURT 7
After 1 ATP match
[Q] Alizé CORNET (FRA) vs Ekaterina MAKAROVA (RUS)
COURT 8 (starts 12 noon)
Nadiia KICHENOK (UKR) / Anastasia RODIONOVA (AUS) vs Andrea SESTINI HLAVACKOVA (CZE) / Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) [3]
[WC] Jennifer BRADY (USA) / Caroline DOLEHIDE (USA) vs Elise MERTENS (BEL) / Demi SCHUURS (NED) [6]
Lucie HRADECKA (CZE) / Ekaterina MAKAROVA (RUS) [7] vs Johanna KONTA (GBR) / Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT)
Nicole MELICHAR (USA) / Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) [5] vs Anastasia PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS) / Anastasija SEVASTOVA (LAT)
COURT 11
After 1 ATP match
[Q] Kaia KANEPI (EST) vs Ashleigh BARTY (AUS) [16]
Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) / María José MARTÍNEZ SÁNCHEZ (ESP) [4] vs Alizé CORNET (FRA) / Aleksandra KRUNIC (SRB)