Women’s Tennis Blog is live on site at the 2014 Topshelf Open, bringing you all the action from the Dutch WTA event.
Located in s’-Hertogenbosch, the tournament is unique as the Topshelf Open is the only WTA grass event outside the United Kingdom (and it will keep that status until 2016 when a new grass event in Mallorca joins the WTA schedule for the prolonged grass season).
With Wimbledon coming up next week, several high-profile players have gathered in s’-Hertogenbosch to prepare for the grass slam, including 2013 champion Simona Halep, Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova & young WTA superstar Eugenie Bouchard.
The first round of the tournament kicked off on Monday, interrupted by several mid-day rain showers. The weather wasn’t the only unpredictable factor on Monday as some match-ups had rather surprising results.
Perhaps the biggest name to stumble today was Maria Kirilenko, losing her match to Mona Barthel. The German, who made her way through the qualifying rounds, got past Kirilenko in two swift sets as the Russian had little to show against Barthel’s improving form.
The match-up between Michaella Krajicek & Jana Cepelova had even more surprise in store. Following an upset three-set win for the Dutch wildcard player, Krajicek’s boyfriend Martin Emmrich came on court and proposed to the 25 year-old, much to the crowd’s delight.
Following a positive response, Krajicek shared her happiness with the world in a press conference that turned into a champagne reception.
What will happen tomorrow at the Topshelf Open? Make sure to keep checking back to find out as our live coverage from s’-Hertogenbosch continues!
