Editor’s Note: After this preview was published, Serena Williams withdrew from Cincinnati with a shoulder injury. Below are Steve’s thoughts on the second, third and fourth quarters of the draw, which you can view here:
Second Quarter
Garbiñe Muguruza is 3-3 since winning the French Open; that qualifies as a tailspin for a player of her quality and potential. She did win two matches at the Olympics, but was sent packing in a hurry by 34th-ranked—and eventual gold medalist—Monica Puig, 6-1, 6-1. Has Muguruza hit bottom again, or does she have farther to fall before she turns things around? We’ll get an idea when she plays the winner of the first-round match between Sara Errani and CoCo Vandeweghe. Muguruza’s third-rounder could be tell us more; she’s slated to play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkov, who has been in form for much of 2016.
Also here: Belinda Bencic, who will play her first event since retiring in the second round at Wimbledon.
American wild card to watch: Louisa Chirico. Can this clay-court specialist, and Madrid semifinalist, make the transition to hard courts? She hasn’t won a match since the French Open.
Semifinalist: Pavlyuchenkova
Third Quarter
