In what is expected to be the next-to-last event of her storied career, Serena Williams will play her opening round match on Tuesday. And in a blockbuster matchup, she faces reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Can the 19-year-old defeat the GOAT, or can Serena pull off one more high-profile victory before her career comes to an end?
Tuesday’s schedule in Cincinnati features many other top names as well. Center Court alone also includes Naomi Osaka, Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios, and Venus Williams, who takes on Karolina Pliskova in a battle between two of the WTA’s all-time best servers.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Karolina Pliskova (14) vs. Venus Williams (WC) – Second on Center Court
This will only be Venus’ third singles match of the season, as multiple injuries have hampered the 42-year-old in recent years. Williams has only earned one singles win in the last 18 months. Pliskova has struggled this season since a hand injury caused her to miss the first two months of 2022. But Karolina had her best run of the season last week in Toronto, where she reached the semifinals, which included a three-set win over fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari. Venus and Karolina played three times between 2015 and 2017, with Pliskova taking two of those three encounters. Their most notable match was in the fourth round of the 2016 US Open, which Karolina won in a third-set tiebreak. In 2022, Pliskova is a considerable favorite to prevail.
Serena Williams (DA) vs. Emma Raducanu (10) – Not Before 7:00pm on Center Court
This will only be Serena’s fourth singles match of the season, and she’s 1-2 since returning at Wimbledon. Last week in Toronto, she made a tearful exit from the court after her straight-set loss to Belinda Bencic, as the Canadian crowd gave the 23-time Major singles champion a standing ovation. With this mini-retirement tour being new territory for Serena, how will she react to what will be a boisterous American crowd on Tuesday? She’ll surely feel nervous, but Raducanu will as well, as she likely assumed she would never get to play Serena. Emma has understandably struggled since her shocking, life-changing run a year ago at the US Open, as she’s just 11-14 on the year. But she’s still played a lot more tennis of late than Serena. This match was originally scheduled for Monday evening, and reports indicated it was postponed until Tuesday due to an injury concern regarding Serena. That’s advantage, Emma. But as we’ve learned over the course of the last several decades, Serena is fully capable of willing her way to victory even when she’s far from her best.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Naomi Osaka vs. Shuai Zhang – Osaka is just 1-2 this summer, and was forced to retire last week in Toronto due to a back issue. She is 3-2 against Shuai, though they haven’t played in nearly four years.
Nick Kyrgios vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Kyrgios has won 14 of his last 16 singles matches, and is on an eight-match win streak in doubles. Davidovich Fokina is only 4-9 this season on hard courts.
Coco Gauff (11) vs. Marie Bouzkova (Q) – Gauff is now the new world No.1 in doubles, and is on the brink of making her top 10 debut in singles. Bouzkova has claimed 18 of her last 22 matches at all levels.
Mackenzie McDonald (WC) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (3) – McDonald was a finalist last year in Washington, but arrived in Cincinnati on a three-match losing streak. Alcaraz was upset last week in an extended affair with another American, Tommy Paul. Earlier this year at Indian Wells, Carlitos beat Mackie 6-3, 6-3.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Botic van de Zandschulp – Medvedev needs to win at least two matches this week to ensure he maintains his No.1 ranking. He’s 2-0 against van de Zandschulp, taking seven of their eight sets contested, all on hard courts.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
