Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and Romania's Simona Halep are both on the order of play for the 2017 Citi Open on Thursday (WTA Washington). Halep enjoyed a first-round victory over Sloane Stephens earlier this week. Meanwhile, Bouchard is into the 2nd round following a solid win over Christina McHale on Wednesday. Halep doesn't appear to be facing a major threat in the next round while Bouchard will likely need to be sharp in her upcoming match if she hopes to advance.
Halep will face Mariana Duque-Marino, a player not known for big upsets on the women's tour.
However, the Colombian did knock out Shelby Rogers in the first round, a result that was surprising. If Halep stays alive and makes it into the third round, she would face Ekaterina Makarova, a player that appears to be in sharp form following a demolition of Monica Puig in the tournament's second round.
Bouchard versus Petkovic preview
Bouchard should have her work cut out for her as she faces Germany's Andrea Petkovic. While the Canadian player might be judged the superior talent, Petkovic has dominated Bouchard over the last several years. They have a head-to-head series that goes back to 2011 with the German beating Bouchard in four of five matches. The Canadian's lone victory over the German came at a time when Bouchard was at the peak of her powers, during the Wimbledon 2014 draw.
The winner between Bouchard and Petkovic will stay alive in the bottom part of the draw where 2nd-seeded Kristina Mladenovic looms as a tough out. The French player will need to beat another Canadian named Bianca Andreescu, a 17-year old who is playing at a higher level than her ranking of 167th in The World implies.
Thursday's scheduled times
For match times on Thursday, Halep will open Stadium Court at 1:50 pm ET. Bouchard and Petkovic will open Grandstand 1 ten minutes later at 2 pm ET. The matches are round-of-sixteen affairs with spots in the quarterfinals at stake for the 2017 Citi Open. The final will be played on Sunday and, if you were to project finalists, they would certainly include Halep at this point.
The Romanian was efficient in her first match, she has a very workable draw ahead, and she's the World No. 2 on tour with the World No. 1 ranking possibly within her grasp in the weeks ahead. Bouchard is a tough sell as a finalist at this point. The Canadian simply hasn't had an impressive enough season to date, although she could inject some momentum into her career right now even with just a semifinal appearance in Washington.
