Twelfth seed Elise Mertens (WTA 17) will face the Russian Ekatarina Aleksandrova (WTA 34), who participates in the Games under a neutral flag, in the first round of the singles at the Olympic tennis tournament in Tokyo, the draw showed on Thursday. .
A pretty solid clapper right away for Mertens, the Belgian tennis hope at these Games after David Goffin’s forfeit with the men. In the mutual confrontations between our compatriot and the Russian it is therefore 1-1, with Mertens winning last year in the semifinals of the WTA tournament in Linz. A year earlier, Alexandrova was the strongest at the grass tournament of the Dutch Rosmalen. Our compatriot has the advantage that in Linz, just like in Tokyo, there is played on hard courts. In the second round, the winner of the duel between Kazakh Yulia Putintseva (WTA 35) and Argentine Nadia Podoroska (WTA 38) awaits. One round further, a duel with the Polish Iga Swiatek (WTA 8), sixth seed in Tokyo, is possible.
Alison Van Uytvanck (WTA 62), our second compatriot on the main draw, faces Serbian Ivana Jorovic (WTA 309) in the opening round. A feasible card, although the two players have never faced each other before. In the second round there may be a duel with the Czech Petra Kvitova (WTA 13). The tenth seed has to get past the Italian Jasmine Paolini (WTA 92) in the first round.
In the doubles, Mertens and Van Uytvanck, who have never played together before, face the experienced Spanish duo Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro in the opening round. As the number one in the world and with three gramd slam titles in his pocket, Mertens is also counted among the favorites in the doubles in Tokyo.
Our country does not send players for singles among the men. In the doubles, Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen, who have been doubles for years, face the Dutch Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer, the eighth seed, in the opening round.
.
