Monterrey 2020: Friday's Order of Play and Match Points

MATCH POINTS

No.1 seed Elina Svitolina and No.2 seed Johanna Konta both take on teenage opposition, 17-year-old Leylah Fernandez and 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova respectively in first-time meetings today. Since the start of 2018, Svitolina is 7-2 against teenagers, with her only losses coming to an 18-year-old Bianca Andreescu at Indian Wells 2019 and 18-year-old Amanda Anisimova last week in Doha. In the same period, Konta is 5-3 against teenagers, losing to an 18-year-old Marketa Vondrousova at Indian Wells 2018, a 19-year-old Vondrousova at Roland Garros 2019 and a 19-year-old Dayana Yastremska at Toronto 2019.

Potapova and Fernandez are both former junior World No.1s and Grand Slam winners, with Russia's Potapova lifting the 2016 Wimbledon girls' trophy and Canada's Fernandez the reigning Roland Garros girls' champion. Potapova, playing her third consecutive quarterfinal of 2020 following St. Petersburg and Acapulco, is bidding for her third career Top 20 win, and first since upsetting Angelique Kerber at Roland Garros last year, against Konta. Fernandez, runner-up last week in Acapulco, is aiming for her second Top 10 scalp in as many meetings, having stunned Belinda Bencic in Fed Cup Qualifier action last month.

No.8 seed Wang Yafan's only previous meeting with No.9 seed Marie Bouzkova was also on Mexican hard courts - with the Chinese player winning 6-2, 6-2 in the first round of Acapulco last year en route to her maiden WTA title. Wang, who had just a 1-5 win-loss record this year coming into this week, is bidding for her first semifinal since Seoul last September, while Bouzkova, who was 0-4 at WTA main draw level in 2020 before Monterrey, is aiming for her second career WTA semifinal following her breakthrough Toronto run last August.

No.6 seed Rebecca Peterson faces Arantxa Rus for the first time since her WTA main draw debut, as an unranked 16-year-old wildcard at Bastad 2012, where she lost to the Dutchwoman 6-1, 6-2. Rus is competing in her seventh career WTA quarterfinal following Guangzhou 2008, Estoril 2010, Bad Gastein 2013, 's-Hertogenbosch 2017, Istanbul 2018 and Palermo 2019 - and is bidding to overturn a 0-6 record thus far to make her semifinal debut. The only previous occasion on which Rus has won three consecutive matches at WTA main draw level was at Roland Garros 2012, where she defeated Julia Goerges to reach the fourth round.

ORDER OF PLAY

ESTADIO GNP SEGUROS (starts 12 noon)
[8] WANG Yafan (CHN) vs [9] Marie BOUZKOVA (CZE)
Anastasia POTAPOVA (RUS) vs [2] Johanna KONTA (GBR)
After 1 ATP match, not before 7pm
[1] Elina SVITOLINA (UKR) vs [SE] Leylah FERNANDEZ (CAN)
Arantxa RUS (NED) vs [6] Rebecca PETERSON (SWE)

CANCHA 4
After 2 ATP matches, not before 2pm
Miyu KATO (JPN) / WANG Yafan (CHN) vs [3] Ellen PEREZ (AUS) / Storm SANDERS (AUS)