At a glance
- After losing the first set, the local hero turned her match against Viktoriya Tomova around and will now meet two-time Stuttgart winner Iga Swiatek.
- Liudmila Samsonova beat Croatian Antonia Ruzic in the day’s second main draw singles.
- Eva Bennemann from the Porsche Talent Team wins the premiere of the Porsche One Point Challenge on Centre Court.
- Other Germans – Eva Lys, Ella Seidel, Tamara Korpatsch and Noma Noha Akugue – will take centre stage on Tuesday.
Laura Siegemund served up an emotional opener at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix with a battling performance. The local hero and 2017 winner defeated lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova from Bulgaria in a hard-fought three setter – 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1. In a match lasting two hours 42 minutes, the German No. 1 converted her first match point with a forehand volley to advance to the last 16 at the long-standing Stuttgart tournament.
In doing so, the 38-year-old got off to a slow start. After losing the first set, she then went 4-0 down in the second set tie-break but clawed her way back impressively to turn the match around in front of a thrilled crowd. ‟The audience is always brilliant here, thanks a lot for your support,” she said after the encounter. ‟If you don’t play well, then you have to battle hard, which is what I did. Luckily enough, I was able move up a gear.” In the second round, she will face the world No. 4 and two-time tournament winner Iga Swiatek (Poland). ‟I don’t have anything to lose and hope I can put on a show,” she said when looking forward to the match.
In day’s last game, Liudmila Samsonova defeated Antonia Ruzic (Croatia) 6-0, 6-4 to advance at the high-calibre tournament. Awaiting this year’s winner is the main prize of a Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet.
Eva Bennemann wins the Porsche One Point Challenge
Preceding the first singles of the day was the inaugural Porsche One Point Challenge which produced an excellent atmosphere on Centre Court in the Porsche Arena. Under the motto, ‟A single rally can decide everything”, pros, celebrity guests and ambitious amateurs all served up hard-fought duels. The win eventually went to Eva Bennemann from the Porsche Talent Team. In the final, she beat her teammate Julia Stusek after a long, enthralling rally – the win handed her an exclusive trip to Istanbul for two courtesy of Turkish Airlines Holidays. ‟I’ll probably give it to my parents. They’ve earnt it,” she said after her triumph. Playing a few points on Centre Court was ‟mega cool”. The other participants like last year’s winner Jelena Ostapenko, the world No. 6 Elina Svitolina and former Formular 1 driver Pilot Mark Webber really enjoyed the new show event, as did the spectators.
Tuesday is the day of the Germans
On Tuesday, the focus will be on German women’s tennis. In the day’s second match on Centre Court, Ella Seidel will be up against Elise Mertens from Belgium, the current world No. 20. Taking centre stage on Tuesday evening will be the encounter between Porsche Friend Eva Lys and Paula Badosa. The German will meet the former world No. 2 from Spain. Adding a little extra ‟spice” to the match is the fact that the two are friends – they practiced together in the Porsche Arena on Saturday. For Lys, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is an extra special tournament. Speaking the day before her opening match, she said she felt ‟at home” in the Porsche Arena. Immediately afterwards, Tamara Korpatsch will take on Diana Shnaider in the final game on Centre Court.
There will be two other singles matches on the show court. Starting at 12.30 pm, the No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova from Czechia will play qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Later – not before 5.00 pm – Alexandra Eala from the Philippines will face Leylah Fernandez from Canada. Last year, the 20-year-old Eala made a name for herself for the first time by reaching the semifinals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, Fernandez is the 2021 US Open runner-up.
German players are also in action on Court 1. In the second match of the day, Laura Siegemund will be partnered by Vera Zvonareva against the Spanish pairing of Aliona Bolsova and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers. Germany’s Noma Noha Akugue/Ella Seidel will then take on Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA)/Liudmila Samsonova.
Tickets for the Porsche Arena
Tickets for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix are available as usual via Easy Ticket Service (Internet or by calling +49 711/2 55 55 55), or directly at www.porsche-tennis.com or at the Porsche Arena box offices. Only a few tickets are still available for the four days between Thursday, 16 April and Sunday, 19 April. Information about VIP tickets enabling an exclusive tennis experience close up to the stars is available by emailing vip@perfectmatch.de.
Monday’s results
1st Round
L. Siegemund (GER) vs [LL] V. Tomova (BUL) 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1
L. Samsonova vs A. Ruzic (CRO) 6-0, 6-4
1. Runde, Doppel
A. Panova/Z. Yang (CHN) vs M. Brooks (GBR)/I. Corley (USA) 6-1, 7-6 (4)
L. Fernandez (CAN)/F. Stollar (HUN) vs X. Jiang (CHN)/Y. Xu (CHN) 6-3, 6-2
Order of Play, Tuesday
Centre Court
From 12.30 hrs
[7] K. Muchova (CZE) vs [Q] A. Sasnovich
E. Mertens (BEL) vs [WC] E. Seidel (GER)
Not before 17.00 hrs
A. Eala (PHI) vs L. Fernandez (CAN)
E. Lys (GER) vs [WC] P. Badosa (ESP)
[WC] T. Korpatsch (GER) vs D. Shnaider
Court 1
From 12.30 hrs
T. Mihalikova (SVK)/L. Noskova (CZE) vs A. Parks (USA)/A. Smith (USA)
L. Siegemund (GER)/V. Zvonareva vs A. Bolsova (ESP)/Y. Cavalle-Reimers (ESP)
Not before 15.00 hrs
[8] E. Alexandrova vs [Q] G. Knutson (CZE)
[WC] N. Noha Akugue (GER)/E. Seidel (GER) vs [4] N. Melichar-Martinez (USA)/L. Samsonova
[1] J. Ostapenko (LAT)/S. Zhang (CHN) vs E. Lechemia (FRA)/L. Salden (BEL)
Porsche in tennis
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is the flagship of the Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG‘s worldwide involvement in women’s tennis. First played in 1978, the Stuttgart WTA tournament stands for tradition and innovation, just like the Porsche brand. As the most loyal sponsor of women’s international tennis, Porsche has accompanied the WTA’s oldest indoor event right from the start. Porsche has also been a premium partner of the ‟Deutsche Tennis Bund” (DTB – German Tennis Association) since 2012 and is committed to fostering up-and-coming players in the Porsche Talent Team.
