Start Your Engines: WTA Stuttgart Preview

The cliche says that a girl’s best friends are diamonds, but the entry list for the Porsche event in Stuttgart suggests that WTA stars must be very good friends with splashy sports cars as well. Even after the withdrawals of Venus and Clijsters, the 30-player field is saturated with talent to the extent normally associated with the Sydney tournament just before the Australian Open. There are a few possibly significant x-factors involved, ranging from Wozniacki’s ankle and Azarenka’s hamstring to Kuznetsova’s shoulder and Henin’s finger. For the purposes of this preview, we’re going to assume that all of these scratches and dents haven’t led to major engine damage. If you start hearing ominous sputtering sounds, though, run for cover before the draw explodes in your face.