(Tennis news) In the opening round, Sloane Stephens, the US Open winner from 2017, faced Haddad Maia. In the opening set, the Brazilian easily won it by breaking her opponent’s serve twice.

Beatriz Haddad Maia had a break advantage in the second set, but she was unable to maintain it. Stephens won four of the final five games of the set to win it and tie the match.

In the third set, Beatriz Haddad Maia again had the advantage, but Stephens twice overcame breaks of advantage to tie the match. The match was eventually won by the Brazilian 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 after he obtained a second break of serve and held his lead this time.

In contrast, Townsend, who is not among the top 100 singles players, played the World No. 40 Varvara Gracheva in her opening match. The American was able to win the opening set with just one service break.

In the second set, Townsend jumped out to an early 5-0 lead but was unable to serve out the match on her first attempt. In a final show of defiance, Gracheva won the following couple of games. The American won 6-4, 6-2 by bringing the match to a close on her second attempt.

Head-to-Head

Since this would be their first main draw encounter, the head-to-head record is now tied at zero.

Predictions

Beatriz Haddad Maia had to be defeated by Stephens in a struggle that lasted nearly three hours. At 40, she made as many winners as unforced errors, but her five double faults outnumbered the one ace she managed to make.

Contrarily, dealing with Gracheva was a lot simpler for Townsend. While trying to end the competition, she stumbled a little bit, but she immediately recovered. She served up 23 wins compared to 20 unforced errors, so it was a really clean match from her end.

The modest edge left-handed players had over the rest of the circuit is eliminated because both players are left-handed.

Beatriz Haddad Maia relies more on her strong groundstrokes and baseline-heavy style of play. Townsend, on the other hand, adds some elegance and enjoys moving towards the goal to complete goals. The American scored 19 out of 21 points, matching his performance from the previous round.

Haddad Maia could be kept on her toes the entire game by Townsend. The Brazilian will still be considered the favourite to win this match, though, because the former has performed better in doubles this year than in singles.

Beatriz Haddad Maia to win in three sets.

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