KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Except history to be created in the ALYA Malaysian Open as World No 13 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine is focused on becoming the first player to retain the women’s singles crown at TPC Kuala Lumpur.
In the draw conducted today, Svitolina, who won in Taipei recently, will open against a qualifier before a likely second round match against World No 97 Nao Hibino of Japan.
If she wins, Svitolina, who has recorded five tour wins, is expected to face resistance in the quarter-finals, where the 22-year-old will play either former champion Hsieh Su Wei of Taiwan or seventh-seed Elise Mertens of Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Barring upsets, the Odessa-born Svitolina and World No 57 Peng Shuai will lock horns in the semi-finals.
In last year’s final, Svitolina edged Eugenie Bouchard 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 7–5 for the women’s singles title.
Carla Suarez Navarro dispelled fears of a last minute withdrawal as the Spaniard will arrive in Kuala Lumpur for her first event since injuring her right shoulder. The 29-year-old withdrew from Doha and Dubai recently.
Navarro will face a qualifier in the first round and is drawn to meet third seed Carolina Garcia of France in the semi-finals.
“I expect an exciting week. It is one of the strongest fields in the history of the ALYA WTA Malaysian Open,” said tournament director Keld Kristiansen today.
“We have had some withdrawals but this is normal in tournaments due to the physical demands of the sport.
“However, our top eight seeds are here. Fans will be treated with world class tennis and I am confident it will be a great tournament.”
The other notable players in the ALYA Malaysian Open are fifth seed Duan Ying Ying and sixth seed Wang Qiang of China along with Turkey’s eight seed Cagla Buyukakcay, a two –time quarter-finalist and a winner of the Istanbul Cup last year.
The wildcard main draw entries are World No 174 Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan and 630-ranked Katarina Zavatska of Ukraine.
Diyas faces Ying Ying while Zavatska opens against Poland’s Magda Linette in the first round on Monday.
