A thrilling day awaits in the Caja Mágica tomorrow, with Garbiñe Muguruza and Paula Badosa making their bows on the first day of the WTA competition. We will also be able to watch several seeds starting their campaigns at the Mutua Madrid Open in a bid to progress in the tournament and try to lift the Spanish WTA 1000 title.
Garbiñe Muguruza will step out onto the Madrid clay in the fourth match of the 11 am morning session, on the Manolo Santana court. The world No. 13 will bid for a place in the second round by beating US player Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion. Their head-to-head is currently tied with two victories for the Florida native and a further two for the Spaniard. However, last time they met, Conchita Martínez’s pupil prevailed on the clay of Rome (6-3, 6-3).
Tomorrow’s other Spanish player, Paula Badosa, will be taking to the Arantxa Sánchez Vicario court in the second match of the 11 am session, immediately following the clash between the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and Swiss Jil Teichmann, another of the day’s most enticing match-ups. The New York-born player will play the Czech Barbora Krejcikova for a place in the second stage of the women’s final draw. The former Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona player arrives on Madrid’s red courts after one of the biggest wins of her career against the No. 1 in the WTA ranking, Australian Ashleigh Barty, who will tomorrow open against the American Shelby Rogers.
On top of these four great encounters, tomorrow’s schedule will allow fans to enjoy a brilliant array of players who will guarantee entertainment on every court. Opening tomorrow’s play in the Manolo Santana will be a first-time encounter between seventh seed and defending champion, the Dutch Kiki Bertens, and the young Andorran Victoria Jimenez, who is just 15 years of age. The second match on centre court will see an all-Czech clash between the world No. 12, Petra Kvitova and the No. 56 in the WTA ranking, Marie Bouzkova.
Also, not to be forgotten are the match between the current French Open champion, Pole Iga Swiatek and Pennsylvania native Alison Riske and the clash between English world No. 18 Johanna Konta, who will be vying for a place in the second round, and Kazakh player Yulia Putintseva.