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Coco vs Serena, The Kenin Mystery, and more at the W&S Open

By Brandon Daniels

TOPSHOT - Coco Gauff of the US walks off the court after losing against Sofia Kenin of the US during their women's singles match on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 26, 2020. (Photo by John DONEGAN / AFP) / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE (Photo by JOHN DONEGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - Coco Gauff of the US walks off the court after losing against Sofia Kenin of the US during their women's singles match on day seven of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 26, 2020. (Photo by John DONEGAN / AFP) / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE (Photo by JOHN DONEGAN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The WTA’s largest tournament since the restart begins tomorrow. Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Sofia Kenin, and many other stars will be competing for the title.

The WTA is already three weeks into its return to action and has seen a smattering of the best in the world. Serena Williams and Coco Gauff headlined the Top Seed Open in Lexington, and Simona Halep took home her first post-lockdown trophy in Prague last weekend.

This week’s Western & Southern Open, however, will feature five players in the top ten, including 2020 Australian Open Champion Sofia Kenin, two-time major champion Naomi Osaka, and current World #3 Karolina Pliskova. In addition, both Williams and Gauff will also be competing; it’s a star-studded draw ready to explode with incredible tennis.

Heading into the event, there isn’t a clear favorite. Karolina Pliskova is rolling into the tournament as the #1 seed but hasn’t been playing up to par since her first win of 2020 at the Brisbane Invitational back in early January. Serena Williams, too, hasn’t been at her best. After a loss to Jennifer Brady at the Top Seed Open where she was considered the favorite, it’s unclear whether or not she’ll be able to bounce back.

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The Sofia Kenin Mystery

Possibly the biggest mystery in the upcoming week will be how Sofia Kenin performs. She’s hit both ends of the spectrum in terms of success this year. On one end, she took home two titles before the shutdown at the Australian Open and in Lyon. On the other end, she lost the Qatar Total Open and the Dubai Championships in the opening round to players ranked far below her (Dayana Yastremska and Elena Rybakina). In addition, she lost two more tournaments in Brisbane and Adelaide to Naomi Osaka and Danielle Collins.

If Kenin can push through the opening couple rounds, history shows that she’ll quickly become the favorite to win the event. At 2-0 when getting past the Round of 16 and 0-4 when not, she’s a huge question mark. The only positive is that she played well at the Charleston exhibition event in June. Her groundstrokes looked as solid as ever and her movement around the court was near peak level, just as it was in Australia.

Kenin’s Projected Path to the Title

R1: BYE

R2: Cornet

R3: Stephens/Vekic

QF: Keys/Jabeur/Alexandrova

SF: S. Williams/Konta/Gauff

F: Osaka/Pliskova/Kvitova/Sabalenka

Kenin, overall, has a rough path to the title here in New York. Both Vekic and Stephens had rough starts to the season return; Vekic was wiped 6-2, 6-4 by Elisabetta Coccieretto in Palermo Round of 16 and Stephens lost in the first round to Leylah Fernandez (a qualifier). However, they’re both dangerous players if at their very best. Ons Jabeur has been playing extremely solid tennis this past month and is looking to break through for the first time at a premier event.

Moving in the final two rounds, Kenin’s projected semifinal opponents have proved more dangerous than those projected to meet her in the title match. Serena Williams has the ability to run anyone off the court and despite her shaky start last week, she’s still a contender. Coco Gauff’s run to the semifinals last week only cemented her ability to play with the world’s best. Gauff nearly took down Kenin in Australia before the champion came back from a set down to take the extremely tight victory.

The current World #4 will need to be nothing short of her best to take the title.

The First of Many: Serena-Coco I

The gods and goddesses of the tennis draw-making were at it again for the WTA. Serena Williams and Coco Gauff are in the same quarter and are projected to meet in the 3rd Round if they win their first two matches. This will set up for the first meeting between the two and a matchup that tennis fans have been dreaming of since Gauff’s magical run at Wimbledon last year.

Coco Gauff’s idols are and always have been the Williams sisters. She’s now 2-0 against the elder, Venus, but hasn’t been able to face off against Serena, the same player she had posters of growing up. Despite her efforts to distance herself from the legendary pair in order to create her own path, Gauff’s game and prowess on the court is still compared to the two as often as it could.

Regardless of that, this matchup will end up being the match of the tournament if it comes to fruition. The teenage prodigy has improved in every tournament she enters and has continued her strong play into this month (shown by her fantastic run to the Top Seed Open semis last week).

Serena’s game is always going to put her in contention for a tournament title at any stage but Gauff’s style of play is going to turn this projected matchup into a blow-for-blow power-fest. Both have incredible power of the serve and from the ground, and also possess premier court coverage and defensive abilities. It’s going to be a toss-up and a sign for the winner for what will come following the match.

dark. Next. W&S Open ATP Qualifiers Recap

The Western & Southern Open kicks off tomorrow with ATP and WTA action at 11 AM EST.

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