The 2021 Ostrava Open begins in a day’s time. The second edition of the WTA 500 event would feature some of the top-ranked players in the world. With the draw released, let us examine how it could unfold.

While the World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka won’t be defending her title, the 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and US Open semifinalist Maria Sakkari headline the event as the top four seeds, respectively.

Top half: Maria Sakkari, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Iga Swiatek

Having received a bye in the first round, the top-seeded Iga Swiatek faces either Zhang Shuai or Yulia Putintseva in Round-of-32. The Polish tennis star is likely to face Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals and Maria Sakkari, who knocked her out at this year’s French Open, in the semifinals.

Seeded No.4, Maria Sakkari has been in sublime form. She has delivered career-best performances at Grand Slam events during the 2021 season, having finished as the semifinalist at the French Open and US Open as well. Sakkari would most probably face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals.

Bottom half: Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, and Belinda Bencic

The No.2 seed Petra Kvitova starts her title hunt against either Caroline Garcia or Paula Badosa. The Czech tennis star is likely to face Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals, who has beaten her in their previous two meetings.

If she reaches the semifinals, Kvitova might face the toughest challenge in No.3 seed Belinda Bencic, the gold-medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As for Belinda, she has a relatively easier route to the semifinals. She is likely to meet Karolina Muchova in the last eight of the tournament.

In all likelihood, the potential semifinal match-ups at the Ostrava Open would be Swiatek vs. Sakkari in the top half and Kvitova vs. Belinda in the bottom half, with Kerber being the dark horse.