Two Former Champions Headline
Western & Southern Open Qualifying Fields
Past Winners Azarenka, Zvonareva to Vie for Main Draw
CINCINNATI (AUGUST 4, 2020) – Players with past Western & Southern Open success will be among those competing for a spot in the main draw during this year’s two-round qualifying event.
Former champions Victoria Azarenka (2013) and Vera Zvonareva (2006), who are both among the active moms on the WTA, headline the women’s field while there are six men competing who have reached at least the quarterfinals at the Western & Southern Open, including 2019 semifinalist Richard Gasquet.
Azarenka was ranked No. 2 when she defeated World No. 1 Serena Williams in the 2013 final. It marks the only time the top two players in the WTA rankings have met at the Western & Southern Open. Zvonareva, who has entered with a protected ranking, claimed the Cincinnati title in 2006 with a win over Katerina Srebotnik just two years after falling to Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport in the 2004 final.
Gasquet’s semifinal run in 2019 is the best result among the men’s qualifying field. He also was a quarterfinalist in 2015 and is one of the six qualifying entrants to have reached that round at the Western & Southern Open, joined by Jeremy Chardy (2012), Steve Johnson (2016), Feliciano Lopez (2015), Gilles Simon (2009, 2011) and Yuichi Sugita (2017)
Forty-eight players from both the ATP Tour and WTA will battle for 12 main draw berths during qualifying Aug. 20-21 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Main draw action for the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 event will take place Aug. 22-28.
There are 11 total former champions entered in the men’s and women’s main draws for the 2020 Western & Southern Open. The ATP field includes defending champion Daniil Medvedev along with Novak Djokovic (2018 winner), Grigor Dimitrov (2017), Marin Cilic (2016) and two-time champion Andy Murray (2008, 11).
Two-time champion Serena Williams (2014-15) will join defending champion Madison Keys, and past winners Kiki Bertens (2018), Garbiñe Muguruza (2017), Karolina Pliskova (2016) and Kim Clijsters (2010) in the WTA field.
Here are the initial qualifying entrants:
ATP Tour
Rank – Name (Age) Nat.
46 – Lorenzo Sonego (25) ITA
50 – Richard Gasquet (34) FRA
51 – Alexander Bublik (23) KAZ
53 – Pablo Andujar (34) ESP
54 – Gilles Simon (35) FRA
56 – Feliciano Lopez (38) ESP
59 – Jeremy Chardy (33) FRA
60 – Pablo Cuevas (34) URU
61 – Aljaz Bedene (31) SLO
62 – Juan Ignacio Londero (26) ARG
63 – Steve Johnson (30) USA
64 – Jordan Thompson (26) AUS
65 – Jiri Vesely (27) CZE
66 – Joao Sousa (31) POR
67 – Radu Albot (30) MDA
68 – Mikael Ymer (21) SWE
69 – Egor Gerasimov (27) BLR
70 – Soonwoo Kwon (22) KOR
72 – Ricardas Berankis (30) LTU
73 – Jannik Sinner (18) ITA
75 – Corentin Moutet (21) FRA
76 – Attila Balazs (31) (HUN)
77 – Cameron Norrie (24) GBR
78 – Federico Delbonis (29) ARG
79 – Gianluca Mager (25) ITA
80 – Laslo Djere (25) SRB
82 – Thiago Monteiro (26) BRA
83 – James Duckworth (28) AUS
84 – Marton Fucsovics (28) HUN
85 – Dennis Novak (26) AUT
86 – Stefano Travaglia (28) ITA
87 – Yuichi Sugita (31) JPN
88 – Andreas Seppi (36) ITA
90 – Yasutaka Uchiyama (27) JPN
91 – Mikhail Kukushkin (32) KAZ
92 – Dominik Koepfer (26) GER
94 – Hugo Dellien (27) BOL
95 – Gregoire Barrere (26) FRA
96 – Andrej Martin (30) SVK
97 – Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21) ESP
98 – Lloyd Harris (23) RSA
99 – Robertp Carballes Baena (27) ESP
271* – Mackenzie McDonald (25) USA
Bold indicates past W&S Open champion
WTA
Rank – Name (Age) Nat.
55 – Su-Wei Hsieh (34) TPE
56 – Alja Tomljanovic (27) AUS
57 – Alison Van Uytvanck (26) BEL
58 – Victoria Azarenka (31) BLR
59 – Alize Cornet (30) FRA
60 – Bernarda Pera (25) USA
61 – Anna Blinkova (21) RUS
62 – Lauren Davisn (26) USA
63 – Jil Teichman (23) SUI
64 – Zarina Diyas (26) KAZ
65 – Laura Siegemund (32) GER
66 – Daria Kasatkina (23) RUS
68 – Carla Suarez-Navarro (31) ESP
69 – Kristyna Pliskova (28) CZE
70 – Arantxa Rus (29) NED
72 – Hibino Nao (25) JPN
73 – Taylor Townsend (24) USA
75 – Sorana Cirstea (30) ROU
76 – Misaki Doi (29) JPN
77 – Kristen Flipkens (34) BEL
79 – Madison Brengle (29) USA
80 – Jessica Pegula (26) USA
81 – Irina Camelia-Begu (29) ROU
82 – Viktoria Kuzmova (22) SVK
85 – Patricia Maria Tig (26) ROU
86 – Nina Stojanovic (24) SRB
88 – Christina McHale (28) USA
89 – Camila Giorgi (28) ITA
90 – Monica Puig (26) PUR
91 – Danka Kovinic (25) MNE
94 – Paula Badosa (22) ESP
95 – Jasmine Paolini (24) ITA
96 – Kristie Ahn (28) USA
98 – Kateryna Kozlova (26) UKR
100 – Timea Babos (27) HUN
101 – Varvara Gracheva (20) RUS
102 – Aliona Bolsova (22) ESP
104 – Greet Minnen (22) BEL
105 – Katarina Zavatska (20) UKR
106 – Anna-Lena Friedsam (26) GER
268* – Vera Zvonareva (35) RUS
350* – Kateryna Bondarenko (33) UKR
*Using injury protected ranking
