Event of the Day: Day 2 of the WTA Finals

Our event of the day is Day 2 of the WTA Finals at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. The final major event of the WTA calendar, the WTA Finals features eight of the best female tennis players from the 2018 WTA season. Today, Angelique Kerber faces Kiki Bertens while Naomi Osaka is set to play Sloane Stephens. With the best of the best of women’s tennis present, it is sure to be an exciting day in Singapore. Kerber comes into this edition of the WTA Finals as the number 1 seed, following the withdrawal of Simona Halep due to injury. For most of the season, things have been good for Kerber, bouncing back after each tournament loss. However, her success has declined as the season has worn on. After winning Wimbledon in July, she failed to reach the quarterfinals in any subsequent tournament.

Bertens, who serves as Halep’s replacement in the draw, has played a good year of tennis. She has won three WTA tournaments this year, taking the Volvo Car Open, the Western & Southern Open and the Korea Open. Her best performance in the Grand Slam tournaments came at Wimbledon, where she reached the quarterfinals. Bertens will be looking to prove she is deserving of her place at the Finals against her German opponent. After a slow start to the year, Naomi Osaka rallied and won the BNP Paribas Open. She would go on to reach the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open before winning the US Open against her childhood idol, Serena Williams, in September. She followed the US Open with an appearance in the Toray Pan Pacific Open final, as well as a semi-final appearance at the China Open. Sloane Stephens, Osaka’s opponent, found her first success of the year in April, when she won the Miami Open. Though she finished runner-up at the French Open and the Rogers Cup, she entered a slump going into the final tournaments of the year, finishing the season with a string of early round losses. Stephens will be looking to break her streak of poor performances against the success-hungry Osaka. It should be a thrilling day of tennis.

Honourable mentions around the globe go to the Premier League, where Arsenal host Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal have had a decent start to their 2018 campaign so far. They sit atop their group in the Europa League while holding 5th place in the Premier League. Furthermore, they come into this Monday fixture on a six-game domestic winning streak. Leicester sit in 10th, showing up and down form this season. However, the Gunners will be without central defender Sokatris Papastathopoulos, who was injured during the recent international break. The Greek defender has been a reliable part of the Arsenal back four since joining the London team over the summer. All eyes will be on north London to see if Arsenal can continue their recent winning run. Elsewhere, in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls look for their first win of the season as they travel to Dallas to face the Mavericks. In the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings look to turn their season around as they host the high-flying Carolina Hurricanes at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

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