Venus Williams’ clash with Mirra Andreeva headlines Tennis in the Land opening round
Venus Williams had won five of her seven Grand Slam titles by the time Mirra Andreeva, her first round opponent at Tennis in the Land, was born.
The 43-year-old Grand Slam champion takes on the Russian teen who has been turning heads as the WTA Tour lingers in Ohio.
For the week before a Grand Slam, Tennis in the Land has attracted a surprisingly star-studded field.
Williams’ match against Andreeva looks like it might be the highlight of the opening round.
Andreeva hasn’t featured on the WTA Tour since her exit from Lausanne a few weeks ago.
Williams has been handed a string of wildcards to compete on the US Open swing and last week stunned Veronika Kudermetova to secure her first win of the season.
Tennis in the Land top seed Caroline Garcia will also have a talented teenager on her hands in the opening round as she is set to face Linda Fruhvitova.
Garcia is set to tumble down the rankings after falling well short of defending her Cincinnati crown.
Anchoring the draw is former world No 2 Barbora Krejcikova who will face a qualifier to start her bid for another WTA 250 title in Ohio.
Despite her loss to Williams last week, Kudermetova enjoys the No 3 seeding and will also start her campaign against a player who will come through the qualifiers on Sunday.
No 4 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova will have to get beyond Patricia Tig of Romania to reach the Round of 16.
Fifth seed Anhelina Kalinina starts her tournament against Romania’s Ana Bogdan.
Sloane Stephens takes on Lauren Davis in an All-American first round clash with the winner going on to face either Venus Williams or Andreeva.
The new Topnotch Stadium in Cleveland will host the event.
More than 30 matches between Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) players will take place at the new venue during this summer’s tournament, which runs from 19-26 August in the Nautica Waterfront District. During the competition, Topnotch Stadium will host more than 20,000 guests as the event is also beamed out millions of TV viewers.
“Tennis in the Land has provided a fantastic player and fan experience since being welcomed to the Hologic WTA Tour in 2021,” said WTA Chairman & CEO Steve Simon.
“The 2023 edition will further enhance the tournament’s reputation as a key event prior to the US Open through the new performance-enhanced stadium, allowing fans to see WTA players performing at their very best in conditions consistent with those that the players will experience at the final Grand Slam of the year in New York.”
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