Kiki Bertens headlines the Libema Open field
The world no. 9 Kiki Bertens is the first player confirmed to participate at the 2019 Libema Open in s-Hertogenbosch that will take place between June 10-16. An International event is a part of the WTA grass-court swing together with five other tournaments, and it has been on the Tour since 1996 when the German Anke Huber won the title. Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Mary Pierce and Simona Halep have all won the title there in the past and Bertens will try to join the list, playing in front of the home fans for the seventh time and seeking her second good result following the semi-final run back in 2015 when she lost to Camila Giorgi in straight sets.
The Dutch player has been among the top-30 for three years now and made a breakthrough run in 2018, entering the top-10 back in October after a slightly slower start of the season. Bertens won the title in Charleston in April and she reached the final in Madrid, losing to Petra Kvitova in three sets after a great fight. The results were not that good in the following events but there was nothing wrong with her game at Wimbledon, reaching the quarter-final and carrying that form onto the hard court as well, playing in the last eight in Montreal and the final of Cincinnati where she stunned the world no. 1 Simona Halep for the biggest title in a career.
Kiki conquered Seoul as well and she earned the place at the WTA Finals for the first time, beating Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka en route to the semi-final where she lost a thrilling encounter against Elina Svitolina. Being a top-10 player, Bertens can pick to play only three International events during the season and one of them is Libema Open, her only opportunity to compete in front of the home crowd and chase her first title on the fastest surface.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2RkF1eR
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