At a glance
- Anna-Lena Friedsam misses out on reaching the main draw after losing to the top-seeded Turk Zeynep Sonmez.
- Alycia Parks, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Gabriela Knutson secure the other main draw tickets.
- Local hero Laura Siegemund starts her campaign at her home tournament on Monday evening against lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova.
- Premiere of the Porsche One Point Challenge on Centre Court from 4.30 pm.
The four Porsche Tennis Grand Prix main draw qualifiers have been decided. Alycia Parks from USA overcame the Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova 6-4, 6-2 in the qualifying final. Aliaksandra Sasnovich was a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 winner against Frenchwoman Oceane Dodin. Top-seeded Zeynep Sonmez (Turkey) lived up to her No. 1 billing when beating Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-0. The German made life hard for her opponent in the first set but in the end had no answer. The fourth main draw ticket was secured by the Czech Gabriela Knutson who defeated Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3.
Main draw start featuring Laura Siegemund
The main draw start puts the Centre Court in the Porsche Arena at the centre of attention. Laura Siegemund will take on the Bulgarian lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova who has replaced the injured Pole Magdalena Frech – not before 18.30 pm – in the day’s first singles. The local hero and 2017 Stuttgart winner stressed up front that the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was ‟simply special” and ‟like no other tournament”. For her, the event will always remain something special.
Following on, Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic will face Liudmila Samsonova. Play in the Porsche Arena will start with the doubles on Court 1 at 2.00 pm.
Porsche One Point Challenge
The premiere of the Porsche One Point Challenge will precede the day’s first singles encounter on Centre Court at 4.30 pm. Under the motto, ‟a single rally can decide everything”, every match in the new show element will consist of just one point. Tennis stars like Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina, Jelena Ostapenko, Paula Badosa, Porsche Friend Eva Lys and Ella Seidel will be competing as will Julia Stusek and Eva Bennemann from the Porsche Talent Team. Also in the line-up are the Endurance World Champion and former Formular 1 driver Mark Webber and Fabian Bredlow plus five ambitious amateurs. Awaiting the winner is an exclusive trip to Istanbul for two people courtesy of Turkish Airlines Holidays.
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.
Sunday’s results
Final, qualifying
[2] A. Parks (USA) vs [5] V. Tomova (BUL) 6-4, 6-2
[4] A. Sasnovich vs O. Dodin (FRA) 6-1, 6-1
[1] Z. Sonmez (TUR) vs [7] A. Friedsam (GER) 6-4, 6-0
G. Knutson (CZE) vs V. Zvonareva 6-3, 6-3
Order of play, Monday
Centre Court
From 16.30 hrs
Porsche One Point Challenge
Not before 18.30 hrs
L. Siegemund (GER) vs [LL] V. Tomova (BUL)
A. Ruzic (CRO) vs L. Samsonova
Court 1
From 14.00 hrs
A. Panova/Z. Yang (CHN) vs M. Brooks (GBR)/I. Corley (USA)
L. Fernandez (CAN)/F. Stollar (HUN) vs X. Jiang (CHN)/Y. Xu (CHN)
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.
