BAD HOMBURG/WASHINGTON, June 24, 2021 (by Michael Dickens)
The WTA 250-series Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers, set in Bad Homburg’s Kurpark, has been a perfect environment this week for players warming up for the Wimbledon Championships, which begin next Monday. The field has included two former Wimbledon champions, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Germany’s Angelique Kerber, among the 32-player draw.
Offering an ideal setting for a demanding grass-court tournament – and drawing upon expertise from Wimbledon groundskeepers by presenting comparable lawn conditions – has benefited all who have competed. However, one thing the tournament organizers have had no control over has been the weather. While at times, it’s been sunny and warm, on Thursday all of that went for naught. That’s because a persistent, all-day rain put a damper on the quarterfinal round and eventually caused a postponement of play until Friday.
As precipitation covered central Germany throughout the day, and with tarpaulins covering both Centre Court and Court 1 at TC Bad Homburg, the beginning of play kept getting pushed back from its original noon time start. First, play was rescheduled to 2 p.m., then 3 p.m. Still, with no letup in the rain by midafternoon, the start was pushed back even further to 5:30 p.m., and finally to 6 p.m. By this time, both Centre Court and Court 1 would be used concurrently for singles matches with the hope that all play could be finished before darkness as the courts do not have lights. However, with sunset scheduled at 9:40 p.m., even the most optimistic tournament director would have their doubts. Finally, by 7 p.m., all play was postponed.
Entschuldigt die Unannehmlichkeiten. Aufgrund der unsicheren Wetterlage können in Abstimmung mit der @WTA heute keine Matches stattfinden. Die Viertel- und Halbfinale werden am Freitag ausgetragen. Infos zur Rückabwicklung der Tribünentickets folgen in Kürze auf unserer Webseite. pic.twitter.com/4zpkIrnBqg
— Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers (@badhomburgopen) June 24, 2021
Now, the revised order of play will begin at 10 a.m. Friday on Centre Court with No. 8 seed Laura Siegemund of Germany playing Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic, followed by No. 4 seed Kerber facing Amanda Anisimova of the United States. The first semifinal will start not before 2 p.m. and the second semifinal not before 6 p.m.
On Court 1, Friday’s order of play will begin at 10 a.m. with a quarterfinal doubles match between Anna Blinkova of Russia and Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands versus Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Kimberley Zimmerman of Belize. It will be followed by the singles quarterfinal match between the No. 1 seed Kvitova and No. 5 seed Nadia Podoroska of Argentina. The two doubles semifinals will follow. Both singles and doubles finals are scheduled on Saturday.
Thursday’s Bad Homburg results
Friday’s Bad Homburg order of play
Azarenka withdraws, Sorribes Tormo advances
Earlier Thursday, No. 2 seed Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the tournament, which gave her opponent, No. 7 seed Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain, a walkover win into the semifinals. On Wednesday, Azarenka survived her three-hour-plus second-round tussle with Alizé Cornet of France – but not without pain, both in her upper left thigh as well as in her abdomen. Azarenka took a medical time early in the third set and also received on-court physio during a later changeover. With the start of Wimbledon just a few days away, it’s not a complete surprise that the World No. 14 from Belarus, who will be seeded 13th at Wimbledon, withdrew to allow her body to heal.
Für @vika7 sind die Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers leider frühzeitig beendet. Wegen einer Verletzung muss sie von einer Viertelfinalteilnahme absehen. Sara Sorribes Tormo zieht daher direkt in das Halbfinale ein. Wir wünsche dir eine gute Besserung, Victoria. 💚 pic.twitter.com/miuClU0xac
— Bad Homburg Open presented by Engel & Völkers (@badhomburgopen) June 24, 2021
