Petra Kvitova was in some form in her opening match against Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen at the 2019 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She won the match 6-1 6-4 in 1 hour and 13 minutes. The Czech third seed came into the match high on confidence. She suffered a setback early, dropping her opening service game, but then looked to be in cruise control for the entirety of the set, so much so that she began serving and volleying whenever she got the opportunity. Kvitova was in no mood to concede any points and could be seen defending balls that she normally would have let go. On the other hand, when she was attacking, Minnen, who was not playing too badly herself, had very few answers. That is the issue with playing against an in-form opponent, especially one with the caliber of Kvitova. Minnen was solid from the baseline, even producing a couple of stunning winners down the line. She also showcased some handy netplay and deft touches, but she was ultimately outmuscled by the power of the Kvitova serve and groundstrokes. Kvitova's game was not without its flaws though. When her timing was slightly off, she missed by huge margins. She also hit a few too many unforced errors, but that's become part of her game over the years. Kvitova was extremely aggressive tonight, playing over 20 percent of the points from inside the baseline in contrast to just 7 percent from her opponent. It helped that despite missing a few shots, her mindset did not change and she kept going for the lines. It was an incredible performance from the Czech. She was not perfect, but again, at this stage of the tournament, she did not have to be.<doc-sep>The battle for the World No. 1 ranking heats up with the Premier European event in Stuttgart, Germany. Six of the world's top 10 will be vying for the title but most of the focus will be on Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova. Both Halep and Kvitova have a chance to overtake the US Open and Australian Open champion this week. However, for the French Open champion Halep, one slip will be costly for she has the maximum number of points to defend on the red dirt. The French Open champion has 2900 points to take care of this season on clay and Kvitova, being the winner at Madrid last year, has 1411 points to defend. In sharp contrast, Osaka has only a paltry 200 points to defend on the toughest surface which automatically puts her at an advantage. If Naomi, who is the top seed at Stuttgart, can find her rhythm, she can tighten her grip on the No. 1 position. That said, Osaka could face fifth seed and former champion Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals and needs to be wary of the German. Second seeded Halep, a former semi-finalist in Stuttgart, could come up against Dubai Open champion Belinda Bencic and the sixth seeded Kiki Bertens in the quarters. Having lost to the Dutchwoman in the Cincinnati final, the Romanian needs to be on her guard throughout the match, should they meet. Halep's path gets trickier with third seed and former semi-finalist Kvitova being in her half. But before they get to lock horns, the Australian Open runner-up needs to get past former champion Laura Siegemund or former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko or 2014 Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova. Fourth seed Karolina Pliskova will be coming to this elite event after a run to the final of the Miami Open and will be hoping to replicate that form here. But it surely won't be easy with a handful of multiple Grand Slam champions, Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka being in her quarter. Here is all you need to know about the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Tournament name: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Date: April 22-28 2019 Category: Premier Location: Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany Surface: Clay Where to watch the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in the USA? Tennis Channel will show the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix live in the USA. Where to watch the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in the UK & Europe? BT Sport will show the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix live in the UK and Ireland. BeIn will show it live in Belgium, France and Turkey. DAZN will telecast it in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In Netherlands, the tournament will be beamed live on Fox Sports. Where to watch the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in India? There will be no live telecast of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in India. Live Stream Details and Info for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Live Stream for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service). 2019 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix news, updates, schedule, results and more on Sportskeeda<doc-sep>Wins for Kiki Bertens, Anastasija Sevastova and Daria Kasatkina in Stuttgart Seeds Kiki Bertens and Anastasija Sevastova had their work cut out for them at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix as Daria Kasatkina also advanced. A lot is once again expected of Bertens on clay this season after a 15-5 record on the red dirt last year, and the sixth seed produced a solid effort as saw off the challenge of qualifier Anna-Lena Friedsam. The Dutchwoman powered to a 7-5, 6-2 victory to set up a clash against either Dubai champion Belinda Bencic or Mandy Minella. World No 13 and seventh seed Sevastova came out on top of the all-Latvian clash as she beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. “I don’t think it was a nice feeling for us both,” Sevastova said after the match. “At the end of the day, you just concentrate on yourself. It’s Stuttgart, it’s the first match, you play like it’s any other match – you try. It’s hard, but that’s the thing that I did.” Following her excellent 2018, Russian Kasatkina has gone off the boil this campaign, but she has made a good start in Stuttgart as she claimed a 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 win over Elise Mertens. . @DKasatkina claims it! She moves into the #PTGP19 second round with a 7-6(8), 7-5 win over Mertens 👏 pic.twitter.com/U2SiU2izH7 — WTA (@WTA) April 23, 2019 Andrea Petkovic earned herself a second-round clash against fellow German and fifth seed Angelique Kerber with a with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Sara Sorribes Tormo while Laura Siegemund beat Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-2 and qualifier Greetje Minnen beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-4 to set up a match with second seed Petra Kvitova. Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page. More from Tennis365:<doc-sep>
The 2019 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is ready to host another strong field of elite WTA players who are looking to get their claycourt seasons underway. Top ranked players including Naomi Osaka, Petra Kvitova and Simona Halep, who had given the earlier claycourt tournaments a miss, will be gunning for title in Stuttgart. Here is a look at their prospects. First Quarter Hsieh Su-wei Expected quarterfinal: Naomi Osaka vs Angelique Kerber Analysis: Osaka is set for a rematch with Hsieh Su-wei, who has given her a tough time this year. Hsieh also took some extra time off to prepare for the clay season. While Osaka will definitely have an edge on the surface, we can expect an interesting encounter in the second round. The road to the last-8 will not be any easier for Kerber, who will be taking on the powerful Croatian Dona Vekic in her opening match. Things do not get any easier for her with the winner of Elise Mertens and Daria Kasatkina awaiting in the second round. That said, Kerber has a good track record in Stuttgart and one would expect her to come through these encounters. My picks: Naomi Osaka vs Angelique Kerber Second Quarter Julia Görges Expected quarterfinal: Karolina Pliskova vs Anett Kontaveit Analysis: Pliskova is set to meet either of the two former World No. 1s - Victoria Azarenka or Garbine Muguruza. She will have her work cut out against both, especially Muguruza, who likes playing on clay and has found some decent form coming into the tournament. Kontaveit has been playing some good tennis too of late, but her section of the draw has several seasoned players. If she comes through her opening encounter against Caroline Garcia, she could next face the big-hitting German Julia Görges, who would be looking to find her stride in front of her home crowd. My picks: Garbine Muguruza vs Julia Görges Third Quarter Jelena Ostapenko might prove to be difficult opponent to beat on the clay courts. Expected quarterfinal: Petra Kvitova vs Anastasia Sevatsova Analysis: Kvitova's chances look bright as she only needs to get past Dominika Cibulkova in a possible second round encounter to make it to the last-8 here. Sevestova, in contrast, will have her work cut out against compatriot and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round. My picks: Jelena Ostapenko vs Petra Kvitova Fourth Quarter Simona Halep will walk into court with a certain amount of pressure considering her stellar record on clay. Expected quarterfinal: Kiki Bertens vs Simona Halep Analysis: Bertens is likely to come through her opening encounter unscathed, and should have enough in the tank to outlast the resurgent Belinda Bencic in the second round. With her style of play, the Dutchwoman will definitely have an edge over her opponents. Halep will be looking to gather some confidence going into the French Open as the defending champion, and what better place to start than the first big tournament of the claycourt season. She will have to be wary of Andrea Petkovic, but should still safely make it to the last-8. My picks: Kiki Bertens vs Simona Halep