How well will local do against global? At the MSC Hamburg Ladies Open (13 to 20 July), four German players will be battling it out for a place in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Some of the best WTA pros in the world will be competing for the prestigious title. Big names, big tennis, big hopes. All in Germany's largest tennis stadium. The Rothenbaum is the focal point of international women's tennis this week, making it the perfect stage for the German pros in particular to play their way into the limelight.
Noma Noha Akugue was still in the final here in 2023. Hamburg is the most important tournament of the season for her. She grew up here and her star rose here in 2023. Now she will be up against last year's winner Anna Bondar from Hungary on Tuesday. Of course Noha Akugue is an outsider. So what? That's what she was two years ago when she marched through to the final.
Tamara Korpatsch also loves playing on clay and won the ITF tournament in Trnava (Slovakia) in May. She now faces Raluka Serban (Cyprus) in Hamburg. Although Jule Niemeier has to play second seed Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) directly, Niemeier has already won four ITF and one WTA Challenger tournament on clay. In short: "made in Germany" will be taking on her international opponents with great ambition.
Valentina Steiner and Caroline Werner secured their tickets for the main draw with two wins each in qualifying. And there they were drawn against each other. It is therefore certain that one German qualifier will reach the round of 16. Lois Boisson, the French Open semi-finalist, opens her title chase against Julia Grabher (Austria).
Valentina Steiner impressed in her second qualifying win, just as she did in her first on Sunday. Sada Nahimana (Burundi), seeded second in qualifying, had no chance in Steiner's 6:3, 6:2 victory. The German duel between Tessa Brockmann (19) and Caroline Werner (29) was much more dramatic. In the end, experience won out over youth and Werner progressed to the main round with her 7:5, 7:5 victory. Anna Petkovic also had the main round within her grasp. The match against Aleksandra Krunic (Serbia) was decided in the tie-break of the third set. Petkovic lost 6:4, 2:6 and 6:7.
Tatjana Maria, the current German number one, leads the German contingent. She will be looking for her first win in her fourth meeting with Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova in the battle for a place in the last sixteen, which will take place on Wednesday. Maria arrived in Hamburg on Monday after only being stopped in the final in Newport (USA) on Sunday. She is having the tennis summer of her life. But today, Tuesday, she is still being asked to keep her fingers crossed for her German colleagues.
