By Britwatch Team
- Top Seeds Camila Giorgi, Dominika Cibulkova, Monica Niculescu, Madison Brengle
- Britwatch: Heather Watson and Johanna Konta
- Defending champion: Heather Watson
- 10-16 January 2015
HOBART, AUSTRALIA – The British Nos. 1 and 2 head to Hobart after very different starts to the year, and already Hobart has been hit with withdrawals of its own.
Britwatch Tennis:
Top Quarter – Alizé Cornet
With the line-up already reshuffled following the withdrawal of newly crowned Auckland champion Sloane Stephens (viral illness), the seventh seed could well make a bit of hay while the sun shines. Her draw is packed with as-yet unnamed qualifiers or lucky losers, although expect Aussie wildcard Jarmila Wolfe to figure – she comes in off the back of matches at the Hopman Cup in Perth.
Second Quarter – Heather Watson
Watson also has been doing duty in Hopman Cup with 2-1 in her favour. She has been working hard despite parting with her coach, and has the added benefit of the advice and guidance while Down Under of Fed Cup captain Judy Murray.
She has a couple of strong seeds in her quarter – Monica Niculescu can be extremely hard to read and Barbora Strycova rounds out the rest of the bracket but Watson will be motivated to defend her second WTA title and sart to make moves back up the rankings to reclaim the No. 1 spot.
Third Quarter – Dominika Cibulkova
The other Brit in the draw, No. 1 Johanna Konta, has a tough start to her campaign. She will face third seed (now second) came up against the free-swinging Roberta Vinci in Brisbane, and lost but on paper should have more than enough to handle the Brit, who lost in her opener in Shenzhen.
Bottom Quarter – Camila Giorgi
Giorgi now finds herself as the top seed after Stephen’s withdrawal. She sartted well enough in Brisbane putting eventual finalist Angelique Kerber under pressure but she starts aainst the quiet and perhaps under-rated Zarina Diyas.
Of course the big name in the frame is Eugenie Bouchard – unseeded after her issues at the end of the year dealing with suspected concussion symptoms, but she seems to be back up and functioning. She will start against Bethanie Mattek-Sands and is already on the back foot with a 0-2 head to head so is by no means a certainty to advance very far.
The Hobart International takes place between 10-16 January.
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