Simona Halep faces a tough task in her bid to overhaul Petra Kvitova as Madrid champion as preparation for Roland Garros continues.
The Romanian is looking to build momentum ahead of her Roland Garros title defence next month in Paris. But a tough draw in Madrid has made her life difficult in looking to overhaul Petra Kvitova in Madrid.
After winning in Stuttgart last week, Kvitova is looking to successfully defend her title in the Spanish capital and faces Sofia Kenin in the first round.
Meanwhile the likes of Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza are looking to keep up their strong reputations on the clay.
1st Quarter
World number one Naomi Osaka headlines the draw as she looks to extend her advantage at the top of the WTA rankings. A tough test against Dominika Cibulkova could stop her progress though with a potential third round match with Anett Kontaveit on the cards.
Osaka’s potential last eight opponent is Karolina Pliskova, who is only just recovering from a viral illness. The Czech Republican starts against Ukrainian rising star Dayana Yastremska. Also in her section is Belinda Bencic, who starts against Alison Van Uytvanck , and a crunch match between Aryna Sabalenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Overall this section of the draw is mixed with power and a couple of excellent matches.
2nd Quarter
This is where we find Roland Garros champion Simona Halep, who has won twice in Madrid before. A match against a qualifier kicks off her campaign with a potential second round meeting with Johanna Konta awaiting her.
Also in this section we have Carla Suarez Navarro taking on Maria Sakkari in what is expected to be a high-quality match. Also Elina Svitolina returns from her injury to take on Pauline Parmentier as she looks to set an early bench-marker for the clay season.
Should the seeds and previous year’s form match up then we could be set for a titanic last eight match between Halep and Svitolina, two of the favourites for Roland Garros next month.
3rd Quarter
The third quarter of the draw sees Angelique Kerber take on Lesia Tsurenko in the opening round. The German will look to complete her career grand slam in Paris next month but has a complicated relationship with the red dirt. A possible second round meeting with Garbine Muguruza could await should the Spaniard get past Istanbul champion Petra Martic.
Out of sorts Sloane Stephens also appears in this section as she teams up with new coach Sven Groenefeld for the first time this week. A qualifier awaits for the American with a second round meeting with Daria Kasatkina and Victoria Azarenka on the cards.
Also in this section in the draw sees Caroline Wozniacki and in-form Donna Vekic.
4th Quarter
In the final quarter of the draw, defending champion Petra Kvitova will play Sofia Kenin in the opening match. The Stuttgart champion also has Barbora Strycova, Caroline Garcia and Madison Keys in her section of the draw.
Should Kvitova make the quarter-finals, a rematch of last year’s final and the Stuttgart final awaits in Kiki Bertens, who plays Katerina Siniakova in round one. Bertens will also fancy her chances in Paris next month as she plays the winner of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova versus Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
Here is the full draw, with main draw action beginning on Saturday:
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