Lisicki starts Cincinnati Open quest, faces Garcia

MANILA, Philippines – Sabine Lisicki will try to log the first victory in the women's action in Cincinnati on behalf of the Philippine Mavericks.

 

The German power hitter will try to kick off her Western & Southern Open campaign on a victorious note as she takes on Caroline Garcia of France early Wednesday. 

 

Lisicki's Cincinnati Open quest is her third US Open warm-up. She was eliminated by Belinda Bencic in the Round of 16 in the Canadian Masters.

 

The 21-year-old Garcia, on the other hand, is seeking to stop a skid. She bowed out early in ]Wimbledon and hasn't recovered since, even at Stanford Classic and in the Rogers Cup.

 

The Frenchwoman is ranked 39 in the world.

 

Lisicki already has one victory over Garcia, which came during the Indian Wells Masters, also a hard-surface tournament.

 

Meanwhile, Mavs' Jarmila Gajdosova and partner Mona Barthel fell prey to Karin Knapp and Roberta Vinci in doubles action earlier Tuesday. 

 

The Gajdosova-Barthel duo was 4-6, 1-6 in the first round of the W&S doubles.

 

The Cincinnati tournament is a part of the seven-week tennis series that links 12 WTA and ATP tournaments. The series culminates at the last grand slam event of the year, the US Open, which culminates on August 31 and will run through September 13.

 

(Sources from Philstar.com and Philippinemavericks.com)