Just a short, snappy Set Points for Tuesday as I was away from the tennis for most of the day. I played tennis this evening, just about managing to miss the rain. It was another all-doubles session and a mixed bag – I need some singles to find my rhythm! Read on for some of the highlights from the first set of main draw matches of the 2018 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart
Rybarikova 1st main draw winner of 2018
In a subdued start to the tournament, Magdalena Rybarikova opened main draw proceedings on Monday night with a surprisingly routine 6-2 6-2 victory over Daria Kasatkina. The stats below back up what was a shocker for Dasha. Credit to Magda who played a very solid match, using her backhand slice to disrupt rhythm and then set up the forehand. While a disappointing loss for Dasha, i’m not too concerned for her going forward since Stuttgart clay is unique.
Pliskova knocks out Charleston champ
I caught a few games of Pliskova-Bertens over lunch where the Czech player eased past the Charleston champion, 6-2 6-2 in less than an hour. Pliskova looked quite impressive and was hitting some nice angles. This was a tough match-up and she came through with flying colours. Next up is Carla Suárez Navarro or Veronika Kudermetova in the second round.
Siegemund starts title defence with a win
In the last match of the day, Laura Siegemund produced an excellent display to beat Barbora Strycova, 6-4 6-3 to make it six straight wins in Stuttgart and 13 wins in her last 14 matches at this tournament. I admire Siegemund’s positive mentality on court and she was so active and dynamic. The way she can produce these drop shots on clay is magical. I’m already looking forward to Siegemund’s next match against either Sloane Stephens or CoCo Vandeweghe.
Anotheeerrrrr one to watch – Marta Kostyuk!
And Marta may be the most promising of the lot. I’m off to catch some of her first round win over Antonia Lottner on WTA TV as i’ve yet to watch her in action. Kostyuk will play Caroline Garcia in the second round after the Frenchwoman beat Maria Sharapova in the first three setter of the tournament so far, 3-6 7-6(6) 6-4 in two hours and 44 minutes. Pleased to see nine minutes in the WTA highlights package which will probably do me.
Wednesday’s order of play
First round action will continue on Wednesday with the star turn of the first round, Kvitova vs. Kerber, highlighting the night session. The first of the second round matches will also be played with the number one seed, Simona Halep taking on Magdalena Rybarikova.
Moo's Tennis Blog 
What a match from Sharapova and Garcia! Maria was super, super aggressive and I really thought she’d take it, but Garcia just refused to go away mixing solid margins with injections of aggression. The crowd really got behind Caro, surprisingly, which probably swung it in the end.
That section of the draw is pretty insane. Svitolina really got a big slice of bad luck!
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Looked like a good one from the highlights. I’m very intrigued by Garcia vs. Kostyuk.
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Istanbul
It only took 6 match points, but the pint sized Kunic fed Makarova 1-6,6-1,6-4. Fast legs vs power.
Apparently there is construction in the immediate area, as the shadow of the boom of a large crane would pass across the court periodically.
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I couldn’t watch the Errani vs Flipkens match due to the shadows. The light intensity difference made it very difficult to see the action on the far end of the court, and this was a match between two of my favorites.
They need to put a retractable 50% sunlight reducing netting over these enclosed courts.(Errani def Flipper 6-3,6-4)
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Thanks for the updates from Istanbul.
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Stuttgart
Huge upset, as the qualifier and 197th Ranked Kudermetova def CSN 7-6,6-2. The Kud has good power( 9 aces) and decent defense and she appears to be about 5’10. She is 16th on the Russian ladder.
Yesterday was The Kud’s 21 birthday, and today she gets a win over a top 25 ranked player, for a nice birthday present.
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