Week 1 of the 2017 season has kicked off with qualifications for the many ATP and WTA events, the main of which are happening in Brisbane. Stars like Angelique Kerber, Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal chose to start their season here, in one of the best tournaments of their level.
ATP
Even though Brisbane lost Roger Federer this year, they still put together an incredibly solid field. World No. 3 Milos Raonic is the first seed of the tournament, but the event’s biggest headliner is definitely 5th seed Rafael Nadal. They were drawn into the same quarter, making for a blockbuster quarterfinal. The unseeded players in this section are also quite dangerous floaters. Sam Querrey upset Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon last year, Mischa Zverev ended 2016 in incredible form, and Alexandr Dolgopolov, Nadal’s first round opponent, is a former Top 20 player.
Whoever comes out of the first quarter won’t have it easy, facing most likely 4th seed Dominic Thiem or 7th seed Grigor Dimitrov. The quarter features a first round clash between Grigor Dimitrov and Steve Johnson, which definitely ranks among matches to watch. Other unseeded players are Australian wild card Sam Groth, and three French musketeers Stephane Robert and both of the doubles team Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Especially Sam Groth is someone to watch. He was slowed down by a foot injury for the majority of last season and is ready to return to his top form this year.
Third quarter features 3rd seed Kei Nishikori, two wildcards; Jordan Thompson and Elias Ymer, and Gilles Muller facing one of the intriguing players in qualifying. The star of this section is definitely the match of the first round, 8th seed David Ferrer against Bernard Tomic. Ferrer had a subpar 2016 season, so Tomic is definitely not without a chance here, especially with the home crowd motivating him. That said, Kei Nishikori seems to have a strong hold on the semifinal spot, so whoever faces him will have to put out their best game.
The match headlining the final quarter will be between the Frenchmen Lucas Pouille and Gilles Simon, whose styles should combine for a very competitive match that will also be pleasing to the eye. The winner of this match will most likely have to face 2nd seed Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. The Swiss got involved in some controversy, after his girlfriend Donna Vekic received a wild card into the main draw thanks to him. Before this quarterfinal happens, the winner of the Frenchmen clash will have to face Kyle Edmund or a qualifier, and Stan Wawrinka will be challenged by Viktor Troicki or a qualifier.
The qualifiers looking to get into the main draw are also of great quality, featuring some of the greatest talent in tennis, such as Yoshihito Nishioka, Jared Donaldson, Frances Tiafoe and even Australia’s own Alex De Minaur, who defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in his opening round.
WTA
World No. 1 Angelique Kerber is at the top of the draw in Brisbane, a WTA Premier event, meaning that the winner receives 470 points. The German definitely won’t have it easy, her first match being against Australian wild card Ashleigh Barty or a qualifier, and it will only get worse from there. Kerber’s quarterfinal will be one of the quartet of Svitolina, Puig, Bouchard or Rogers. The match between No. 6 seed Elina Svitolina and Rio gold medalist Monica Puig is definitely among the matches to show. The winner will definitely be a favorite against both Bouchard or Rogers.
Kerber’s potential semifinal could be 3rd seed Karolina Pliskova. Other than her first round opponent Yulia Putintseva, there aren’t many players that have the quality to reach the semifinals of this event. The other seed in this second is No. 8 Roberta Vinci who faces Lesia Tsurenko. Both players have been struggling in the second part of 2016 and are finding themselves. Ekaterina Makarova and Misaki Doi are also players that haven’t been showing that they are of that quality. Completing the section is a qualifier and controversial wild card Donna Vekic.
Third section of the draw holds the best clash of the first rounds, 4th seed Garbine Muguruza against Aussie Samantha Stosur. Last time these players met was in the Roland Garros semifinals with Muguruza being the winner. The winner faces a tough challenge from either Irina-Camelia Begu or Daria Kasatkina, both players working towards securing a seed at Australian Open. 5th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova will be in good position to possibly upset Muguruza in the quarterfinals, enjoying a much softer draw. Starting off against Louisa Chirico, the Russian will face a qualifier in the possible second round. This should give her some edge over whoever her opponent will be in the quarterfinal, as her matches should be easier.
The final quarter is anchored by second seed and World No. 5 Dominika Cibulkova. The Slovakian is aiming for a Top 4 seeding at Australian Open, which would mean overtaking Simona Halep. The gap between the players is currently 353 points, which is definitely doable. Cibulkova’s first hurdle in the second round will be either Shuai Zhang or Laura Siegemund, two players who did extremely well in Australia last year, so the stakes for them are very high as they will have to scramble to defend their points. The other quarterfinalist will either be 7th seed Elena Vesnina, unpredictable Alize Cornet, Christina McHale or Sara Errani. It seems to be one of the toughest quarters to predict, but the winner of the first match should be the favorite.
The qualifiers are very exciting players, and have potential to make an impact in the main draw. The main seed Kateryna Bondarenko is still in, and with the right draw can definitely make it past the first round. Other exciting prospects include 7th seed Francesca Schiavone, Bethanie Mattek-Sands or 4th seed Carina Witthoeft. Perhaps the player everyone should look out for should be young Australian wild card Destanee Aiava. The 16 year old has clinched an Australian Open main draw wild card earlier this year, and is now proving herself on the WTA level. Starting off with a confident 6-0 6-4 win over Samantha Crawford, who reached semifinals in Brisbane last year. She then went on to demolish doubles specialist Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2 6-0. All that separates Aiava from the main draw is Carina Witthoeft, former World No. 49.
