Osaka, Halep, Kvitova, Pliskova lead a tough draw in Stuttgart

WTA Stuttgart. The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is about to start with a glorious line-up with the following seeds: Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova, Angelique Kerber, Kiki Bertens, Anastasija Sevastova, and Anett Kontaveit.

Projected quarters

These are the projected quarters:

Osaka – Kerber
Pliskova – Kontaveit
Sevastova – Kvitova
Halep – Bertens

Naomi Osaka

The Japanese has no points to defend in Stuttgart since she didn’t play the competition last year. However, Osaka needs to start to have deep runs again as she has been struggling to perform after she parted ways with her coach Sascha Bajin to record an unflattering 3-all record after the split. This is her projected path:

R1  – Bye
R2  – Hsieh
1/4 – Kerber
1/2 – Pliskova
Fin  – Halep

Simona Halep

The Romanian reached the quarters last year, and a good run in Stuttgart may be decisive for her to take back her world no.1 rank that she missed in Miami after she lost in the semifinal. This is Simona’s projected path:

R1  – Bye
R2  – Petkovic
1/4 – Bertens
1/2 – Kvitova
Fin  – Osaka

Petra Kvitova

The Czech is also chasing the world no.1 rank. That may not happen this week since she still has a +300-points gap vs. Osaka, but since she has no points to defend in Stuttgart (she lost in the opening match last year), she has good chances to strengthen her rankings. This is Kvitova’s projected path:

R1  – Bye
R2  – Cibulkova
1/4 – Sevastova
1/2 – Halep
Fin  – Osaka

Karolina Pliskova

Karolina is having a rather good season with a solid 20-4 win-loss record. The Czech will not improve her rankings since she is the defending champion in Stuttgart where last year she defeated Coco Vandeweghe in the final 7-6 (2) 6-4. This is Pliskova’s projected path:

R1  – Bye
R2  – Muguruza/Azarenka
1/4 – Kontaveit
1/2 – Osaka
Fin  – Halep

WTA Stuttgart Draw