The 2016 edition of the China Open is about to start. Serena Williams is out, leaving the rest of the field a comparatively better chance to succeed. The competition in the 60-player main draw begins on Monday, October 3. Here is a look at what to expect at the China Open:
Event Details
Event: China Open
Category: WTA Tour – Premier Mandatory
Date: October 3 – 9, 2016
Location: National Tennis Center – Beijing, China
With a prize money allotment of just over $4.5 million, the 1,000-point tournament is one of the last prestigious events on the calendar. The next really big event is the season-ending WTA Finals championship with the final eight players meeting in round-robin play. This has been the year of Angelique Kerber, and Serena has made her presence known as well with three major finals in four chances, but there’s an opening for another player to make a name for herself, and possibly change the race to the WTA Finals, which is a highly lucrative event that will make all eight of the participants feel better about the kind of season they had.
The points structure under the WTA system is that the championship means 1,000 points. A runner-up finish is worth 650. A semifinal result is 390 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 215 points. A round-of-16 results provides 120 points, a round-of-32 showing 65 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Garbine Muguruza def. Timea Bacsinszky – 7-5, 6-4
2014 – Maria Sharapova def. Petra Kvitova – 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2013 – Serena Williams def. Jelena Jankovic – 6-2, 6-2
2012 – Victoria Azarenka def. Maria Sharapova – 7-5, 0-6, 6-4
2011 – Agnieszka Radwanska def. Andrea Petkovic – 6-2, 6-4
Player Info:
Let’s take a look at some of the prime players in this tournament.
On Tuesday, Garbine Muguruza suffered another early exit. She crashed out of the Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open. The Spaniard’s horrendous form continued as she followed her shocking second-round loss at the U.S. Open and quarterfinal loss at the Pan Pacific Open with another early exit. The world No. 3 received a bye into the second round but was shown the door by the former world No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, who beat her in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6(2). Jankovic is very solid but 42 unforced errors from the 2016 French Open champion turned out to be her downfall.
Muguruza stunned Serena Williams by overpowering her in the French Open finals but has failed to live up to her No. 3 ranking since then. She is the defending champion in Beijing but is 5-5 in her last ten matches. While Muguruza searches for form and confidence, another early exit in China cannot be discounted.
There is not even an iota of doubt that Angelique Kerber has had the best season of her career and she is currently the best player in the world. But will she do justice to her No. 1 ranking and start winning consistently? Kerber survived an almighty scare from Kristina Mladenovic in the second round but couldn’t get over the line against Petra Kvitova, who beat her in a three-hour, 20-minute seesaw battle. Earlier after her win over Mladenovic, Kerber expressed that it will take her best tennis to beat Kvitova. The German was never at her best, double faulting eight times. Kerber’s conversion rate worsened things for her. She converted only 5 of 22 break points. You don’t win matches by squandering 17 break chances against a quality opponent. With a hard fought win, Petra Kvitova also ended her losing streak of three straight matches against Kerber. If Kerber dreams of staying at the top for a long time, she needs to add even more consistency to her game.
Agneiszka Radwanska was one of Caroline Wozniacki’s victims in Tokyo but in Wuhan, Radwanska exacted revenge by thrashing the Dane, 6-4, 6-2. The world No. 4 has reached the quarterfinals in Wuhan, where she’ll be playing Svetlana Kuznetsova for a spot in the semifinals. Radwanska was stunned by 92nd-ranked Ana Konjuh in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. The Polish professional may be not be the most consistent at the Grand Slam level but has been excellent throughout her career at Premier events. One of her 19 WTA titles came here at the China Open in 2011, where she beat Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 to complete the Tokyo-Beijing double. Radwanska has won two titles and is 41-15 on the year. She has looked erratic at times but she is in good form and is getting ready for the assault in China.
National Tennis Center
The National Tennis Center hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. The rounded stadium witnessed Rafael Nadal claim a singles gold and Roger Federer take doubles gold with Stan Wawrinka. Elena Dementieva won singles gold for the women, part of the Russians sweeping gold, silver and bronze. The Olympics will remain the most significant event to be held at this facility, but the Premier Mandatory tour stop for the WTA justifies its long-term existence.
