This year’s edition of the Connecticut Open initially featured four top 10 stars until it was hit with the withdrawal of 10th-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was forced out with a shoulder injury. Two further withdrawals in Johanna Konta (shoulder injury) and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (back strain) followed suit.
Nevertheless, top seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who took a wildcard into the tournament, headlines the draw highlighted by the presence of fellow top 10 residents Roberta Vinci and Madison Keys alongside 11 other top 30 players and a returning four-time champion.
Focus on New Haven
The Connecticut Open has rich history dating all the way back to the late 1940s when it was first held in San Francisco, California as the U.S. Women’s Hardcourt Championships. Since then, it has moved to several cities, among them Salt Lake City, Denver, Seattle and San Antonio before venturing into New Haven in 1998 and has been a fixture there ever since. Prior to New Haven, the only New England location to play host was Stratton Mountain, Vermont which hosted the 1993 and 1994 editions.
Since moving to New Haven, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki share the record of most titles won, each winning four. The hallmark feature of the tournament th past few years however is two-time Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova. The Czech has made the final for four consecutive years since 2011, winning thrice in 2012, 2014 and 2015. The defending champion will look to equal Wozniacki and Williams’ record this year. The top two seeds Radwanska and Vinci both received a bye into the second round.
Located on the grounds of Yale University, the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Centre will be the focus of tennis action throughout the tournament. The host city New Haven, home to about 130,000 residents is the second largest city in Connecticut.
First quarter
This is the only quarter of the draw not to feature a qualifier or lucky loser, its top portion has a highly-anticipated blockbuster in the making as top seed Radwanska and fellow wildcard Wozniacki are on a collision course, both could clash in the second round. Wozniacki would need to overcome the powerful Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko in her opener first, which is no walk in the park for the former world number one.
Radwanska’s seeded quarterfinal opponent is the eighth seed Karolina Pliskova. She faces Belinda Bencic in her opener, whose 2016 has not gone as planned due to multiple injuries. The Swiss lost her opener in Cincinnati, where she struggled with a leg injury. Meanwhile, the other first round match, a clash of big-hitters sees France’s Caroline Garcia take on Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu, a rematch of their opening round encounter here two years ago.
Top seed Radwanska is the clear favourite to come out of this quarter but the Pole’s form looked to have dipped since the hardcourt season in March when she made the semifinals of Indian Wells. She went 19-4 in the first three months of the year but since then, she is 13-9. Moreover, the presence of big-hitters in her quarter makes it even more challenging. However, the experienced top seed should be able to find her way out of trouble that may surface and secure her place in the last four.
Prediction: Radwanska d. Pliskova
Second quarter
Kvitova is the now the highest seed in this quarter after the withdrawal of Kuznetsova. The two-time defending champion and newly-minted Olympic bronze medallist begins her title defence against a qualifier or lucky loser. Should the Czech advance, wildcard Eugenie Bouchard awaits. Like Kvitova, Bouchard will need to overcome a qualifier or lucky loser in her opener first.
The other half of the quarter is highlighted by 11th seed Barbora Strycova, who kicks off against a qualifier or lucky loser. The Czech could face one of Sara Errani or Ekaterina Makarova in the second round.
Her run to the Olympic medal puts away the horrendous results Kvitova had in 2016 so far and it will be intriguing to see how the Czech backs it up. Last year, she snapped a two-match losing streak in Toronto and Cincinnati by winning the title here. Given that the conditions here bode well with her game, the Czech number one looks on course to make her fifth straight semifinal appearance.
Prediction: Kvitova d. Makarova
Third quarter
Third seed Keys is coming off a remarkable Olympic debut where she reached the semifinals but fell to Kvitova in three sets in the fight for bronze. The American drew Russian Elena Vesnina, who took home the Olympic gold medal with Makarova in women’s doubles. Keys could face Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens in her following match, Bertens opens against a qualifier or lucky loser.
At the other end of the quarter, 10th seed Elina Svitolina meets Daria Kasatkina in a clash of Olympic quarterfinalists. The winner plays a qualifier or lucky loser for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Keys, the top American in draw this year fell to Kvitova in the second round last year. With the support of a home crowd, she should navigate her way out of her quarter this time around to get to the last four. Her path however will not be an easy one given the likes of Vesnina, Bertens and Kasatkina, all of whom are playing well this year.
Prediction: Keys d. Kasatkina
Fourth quarter
Second seed Vinci bookends the draw. The Italian’s last few months were a rough one as she has only won back-to-back matches twice since the start of the clay court season in April. In her first match of the week here, she faces the winner of an opening round clash of qualifiers or lucky losers.
Seventh seed Timea Bacsinszky is present in this quarter. She took home the Olympic silver medal in women’s doubles alongside Martina Hingis and begins her campaign against a qualifier or lucky loser. The Swiss number one will then meet either Kristina Mladenovic or Shelby Rogers, the sole wildcard in the bottom half of the draw for a place in the last eight.
With the US Open looming and runner-up points coming off, Vinci will need a solid run in New Haven to cushion her ranking. The Italian number one swept past Bouchard in her opener here last year, only to come up short to Wozniacki in a deciding tiebreak in her following match. This time around however, the likes of Bacsinszky and Mladenovic could make it difficult for the Italian in making the last four.
Prediction: Bacsinszky d. Vinci
Semifinals: Radwanska d. Kvitova, Keys d. Bacsinszky
Radwanska has yet to reach a final since winning the Shenzhen Open in January. However, after suffering subpar results in her last few tournaments, given how she had begun her season, the Pole looks set for a rebound here in New Haven as a deep run should boost her confidence for the US Open, where she has yet to make it past the round of 16.
On the other hand, in 2016, Keys has been consistently making the latter stages of tournaments that really matter. Moreover, throughout her career, all of her five final appearances came at Premier-level tournaments or better, winning grass court tournaments of Eastbourne in 2014 and Birmingham this year. In addition to winning Birmingham, the American also made the final of Rome and Montreal, both of which are Premier 5 events. Her only other runner-up finish came in Charleston last year. This will be the promising American’s time to finally break through to a maiden title on hardcourts.