MATCH POINTS
A clash of former champions takes place as 2018 winner and No.8 seed Petra Kvitova takes on 2016 winner Carla Suárez Navarro in the second round. Their overall head-to-head is tied at 6-6, but Suárez Navarro leads 5-3 on outdoor hard courts and 3-0 in the Middle East: the Spaniard won consecutive last-16 encounters in Dubai 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in 2014 and 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 2015, and followed up the latter with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory the following week in the Doha quarterfinals. The pair's last meeting was in the 2018 New Haven quarterfinals, which Suárez Navarro took via retirement; their last completed match was in the first round of Toronto 2017, which Kvitova won 6-1, 7-6(5).
No.4 seed Belinda Bencic has been squaring off against fellow 1997-born 22-year-old Veronika Kudermetova since the pair's junior days - but the latter has swung the rivalry her way in the pros. Bencic won all three of their junior meetings, but in the pros Kudermetova leads 3-1, including twice last year - a 6-4, 6-3 victory in St. Petersburg qualifying and a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in the second round of Wuhan, their only previous outdoor hardcourt meeting. Elsewhere, they have split two pro meetings on grass, with Kudermetova winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round of 's-Hertogenbosch 2018 and Bencic scoring her only senior triumph over the Russian 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of Eastbourne last year.
Australian Open champion and No.6 seed Sofia Kenin has split two past meetings with Dayana Yastremska, both last year. Yastremska was a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victor in the second round of Wimbledon, but Kenin got a 6-2, 6-2 revenge in the third round of Toronto a month later.
Defending champion and No.16 seed Elise Mertens takes on Yulia Putintseva for the second time this month. In their first meeting, Mertens helped lead Belgium to a Fed Cup Qualifier victory over Kazakhstan at home in Kortrijk with a 6-1, 7-6(1) defeat of Putintseva.
Two of the most in-form rising players in 2020 meet as wildcard Ons Jabeur faces Jennifer Brady for the third time. The pair split two previous encounters in 2019, with Brady winning 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of Cincinnati and Jabeur avenging the defeat 6-4, 6-2 in the first round of Tianjin two months later.
No.9 seed Aryna Sabalenka faces a rematch of last October's Wuhan final against Anett Kontaveit, their sole prior encounter. Sabalenka won 6-3, 6-3 to complete a successful title defence.
2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko essayed a comeback from 2-6, 1-3 down against Barbora Strycova in their only previous meeting, winning 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round of Wuhan 2017.
No.11 seed Garbiñe Muguruza lost her first meeting against Ajla Tomljanovic from a set and 5-2 up, falling 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-1 in the second round of Miami 2014 - but has won both of their matches since, 6-3, 6-0 in the 2018 Monterrey quarterfinals (going on to take the title) and 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Australian Open last month (going on to reach the final).
ORDER OF PLAY
CENTRE COURT (starts 3.30pm)
Carla SUÁREZ NAVARRO (ESP) vs [8] Petra KVITOVA (CZE)
[1] Ashleigh BARTY (AUS) vs [Q] Laura SIEGEMUND (GER)
Not before 7pm
[3] Karolina PLISKOVA (CZE) vs [Q] Bernarda PERA (USA)
[WC] Ons JABEUR (TUN) vs Jennifer BRADY (USA)
COURT 1 (starts 2pm)
Anett KONTAVEIT (EST) vs [9] Aryna SABALENKA (BLR)
Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS) vs Iga SWIATEK (POL)
Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) vs [4] Belinda BENCIC (SUI)
[11] Garbiñe MUGURUZA (ESP) vs Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS)
[15] Maria SAKKARI (GRE) vs [Q] Tereza MARTINCOVA (CZE)
COURT 2 (starts 3.30pm)
Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) vs Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT)
Dayana YASTREMSKA (UKR) vs [6] Sofia KENIN (USA)
Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL) vs [14] Elena RYBAKINA (KAZ)
[5] Nicole MELICHAR (USA) / XU Yifan (CHN) vs DUAN Yingying (CHN) / Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS)
HAN Xinyun (CHN) / PENG Shuai (CHN) vs Belinda BENCIC (SUI) / Sofia KENIN (USA)
COURT 3 (starts 3.30pm)
[WC] Vera ZVONAREVA (RUS) vs ZHENG Saisai (CHN)
[16] Elise MERTENS (BEL) vs Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ)
[6] Gabriela DABROWSKI (CAN) / Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT) vs Ekaterina ALEXANDROVA (RUS) / Anna BLINKOVA (RUS)
Kirsten FLIPKENS (BEL) / Bethanie MATTEK-SANDS (USA) vs [3] Elise MERTENS (BEL) / Aryna SABALENKA (BLR)
COURT 5 (starts 3.30pm)
Lucie HRADECKA (CZE) / Andreja KLEPAC (SLO) vs [2] Timea BABOS (HUN) / Kristina MLADENOVIC (FRA)
Not before 5pm
[1] HSIEH Su-Wei (TPE) / Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) vs Lyudmyla KICHENOK (UKR) / Nadiia KICHENOK (UKR)
[WC] Cagla BUYUKAKCAY (TUR) / Laura SIEGEMUND (GER) vs [7] CHAN Hao-Ching (TPE) / Latisha CHAN (TPE)
