As the WTA hard-court swing gets underway, France is the next destination. The Lyon Open will have the first edition as a women’s tournament this year. Let’s look at the exciting week and some thrilling prospects waiting to unfold in Lyon.
The Favourites
America’s Sofia Kenin is the top seed. The 2020 Australian Open champion and current world number 5 would be hoping for a successful week after the shock first match ouster in Dubai. With no other top 20 player in the tournament Kenin is a huge favourite to lift her second trophy of 2020. She would be eager to live up to that tag before entering the US hard-court swing in March.
Local starlet and world number 39 Kristina Mladenovic is seeded second. The Frenchwoman has been more known for her doubles heroics. She has won just five singles matches in 2020 so far. The Australian Open doubles champion will have a lot of home support behind her. Lyon offers a great platform to improve her singles credentials. Mladenovic could face top seed Kenin in the final.
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Another Frenchwoman Caroline Gracia is seeded third. The world number 47 lost in her first match at the Qatar Open. She needs a few wins to get the confidence going and would be hoping for a positive week at Lyon.
In the series of local seeds Alize Cornet, the world number 58 is placed fourth. Cornet was the quarterfinalist at the Auckland Open in January. She would be looking to go one step further this week at the home tournament of Lyon.
The Dark Horses
The 22-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina who is seeded seventh will be one of the players to watch out in the tournament.
Kasatkina had a career-resurgent year in 2018 when she broke into the top 10. Last year was a sort of down-slide for the hard-hitting Russian. She looks eager to reverse the tide in 2020 and Lyon offers an exciting launch pad for a great year ahead.
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Another player to look for this week in Lyon will be Jil Teichmann. The Swiss player has great potential but is yet to translate that into performance. A good week in Lyon might set the boat rolling for the Swiss, 22, as the exciting part of the season draws near.
Lyon Open 2020 Prediction
There seems to be not much of an opposition for the Australian Open champion Kenin.
A win in Lyon gives her a great chance to overtake Bianca Andreescu in the WTA rankings. With the motivation to move ahead in the rankings and a chance to get back into rhythm, Kenin is our favourite to lift the inaugural WTA Lyon trophy in 2020.
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