The WTA's early season North American hard court swing kicks off with the International level Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico. Former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka is the headlining player with recent breakout star Johanna Konta looking to keep her name on everyone's lips. Sloane Stephens is the draw's second seed and will attempt to put behind a disappointing Australian Open with a great week here, as all players start to look ahead and build their form for Indian Wells and Miami.
No 2015 Semifinalists return
Last year's edition of the tournament saw Timea Bacsinszky defeat Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-0 in the final, giving the Swiss her first WTA title since 2009 and kick starting the incredible spring and summer seasons which would see her briefly break into the top-ten by the end of the year. Garcia moved into the final being handed a walkover from top seed Maria Sharapova, while Bacsinszky won her semifinal over lucky loser Sesil Karatantcheva in a rare latter round WTA appearance from the Bulgarian. With none of these four competing in Acapulco this year, defending quarterfinalists Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Monica Puig, and Johanna Larsson will hope their performances from a year ago will result in even further success in 2016.
Victoria Azarenka with potential second round match against Dominika Cibulkova
While Sharapova is not making a return appearance to Acapulco, tournament organizers must be pleased to have secured Azarenka to headline the field. Currently at 15 in the rankings, Azarenka has enjoyed a strong start to 2016 winning the title at the Brisbane International and reaching the Australian Open quarterfinal where she lost to Angelique Kerber. With nearly a month off, Azarenka should be in good form and is undoubtedly the favorite to win the title, though top players can often struggle at international level WTA tournaments when there is no major trophy on the line.
Azarenka will face Slovenian Polona Hercog in the opening round, who performs better on clay and shouldn't trouble the Belarussian. A potential second round encounter against Dominika Cibulkova could be tough, although the Slovakian has faced major hurdles in rekindling the form which saw her reach the Australian Open final two seasons ago. Cibulkova has been erratic, but in certain matches has shown sparks of her past form and a matchup against a top player might motivate her to show her best. Possible quarterfinal opponents include eighth seed Johanna Larsson or recent Rio Open runner-up Shelby Rogers, but it's hard to see Azarenka falling to anyone in the draw barring injuries.
Johanna Konta hoping to keep up excellent form
Recent Australian Open semifinalist Johanna Konta as the fourth seed with her improved WTA ranking of 27. Konta had the tournament of her life down under and followed up the success with a media tour in Britain, and the whirlwind of attention and new expections could possibly lead to a letdown. Konta will face 20-year-old Estonian Anett Kontaveit in the opening round who has struggled so far in 2016, with Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Christina McHale, Heather Watson, Danka Kovinic and Tatjana Maria all possibly in her path to the semis. Without any qualifiers or wildcards in this quarter, the player who advances into the semis will have demonstrated good form and played three tough matches.
Sloane Stephens and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova lead more open bottom half
While the top half includes players showing great recent form and a number of reliable veterans the bottom half is highlighted by inconsistent players, inexperienced wildcards, and spots for qualifiers. Second seed in the draw, Sloane Stephens enters Acapulco following a disappointing performance at the Australian Open where she crashed out to Qiang Wang in the opening round. Stephens had won the title in Auckland to bein her 2016 season and expectations where high for her to make a run in Melbourne. Following the lackluster performance against Wang once again many were left asking questions why the talented American hasn't been able to perform to the best of her abilities.
It's difficult to predict what kind of level Stephens will show this week, but opening against a qualifier should allow her to get into a groove early on. Dangerous opponents in Sloane's quarter include erratic Olga Govortsova, fifth seed Alison Van Uytvanck, and young Japanese star Naomi Osaka. A tough quarter to predict with inconsistency being a common factor throughout, dramatic matches and upsets would not be out of place here.
Third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova comes into Acapulco with mixed results in 2016, having reached quarterfinals of both Brisbane and Saint-Petersburg, but falling in the first round of Australian Open to Lauren Davis. The Russian's week-to-week variation in form make predicting her results difficult, but she has been gifted with a generous draw which should see her easily into the quarterfinals.
Her likely opponent would then be either Belgian Yanina Wickmayer or Puerto Rican Monica Puig, who has shown rejuvenated form to begin the year. With three qualifier spots to be filled in this quarter upsets from an in-form lower ranked player would not be shocking as this section lacks reliable players.
