MATCH POINTS

2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, who has compiled a 15-23 win-loss record this year so far, has returned to the site of her WTA main draw debut. The Latvian received a wildcard here as a 17-year-old in 2014, and defeated Shahar Peer before falling to Ksenia Pervak.

2017 champion Kateryna Bondarenko returns to action for the first time since last year's US Open after her second maternity leave, having given birth to daughter Eva in March. The Ukrainian, who reached her career high ranking of World No.29 in October 2009, made it back to World No.56 in July 2016 after having her first daughter, Karin, in 2013.

Bondarenko is one of three former champions in action on Day 1, alongside 2008 champion Sorana Cirstea and 2012 winner Irina-Camelia Begu. In total, there are six previous victors in the 2019 main draw, with defending champion Margarita Gasparyan, 2007 winner Pauline Parmentier and 2016 champion Kristyna Pliskova also present; in addition, 2005 finalist Akgul Amanmuradova, 2013 runner-up Olga Govortsova and 2017 finalist Timea Babos are all competing as well.

Wildcard Sabina Sharipova has reached one WTA quarterfinal, at Tianjin in 2015, and is competing in her tenth Tashkent main draw. The Uzbek lost to Danka Kovinic 7-5, 6-1 in their only previous meeting in the first round of the ITF 100K event in Shenzhen last year; neither have won a WTA main draw match this year yet, with Sharipova's last victory at this level coming at Nanchang last year and Kovinic's at Istanbul last year.

Vitalia Diatchenko was a 6-2, 7-5 victor over Katarzyna Kawa in their only prior encounter, in the first round of the Moscow ITF 25K event in 2014 on clay. Kawa is seeking her first WTA main draw match win since her stunning run to the Jurmala final in July on her WTA debut, while Diatchenko is bidding for her first since reaching the third round of Wimbledon 2018.

Qualifier Harriet Dart was triumphant over Washington semifinalist Anna Kalinskaya the only time the pair have played before, in the second round of the ITF 100K event in Ilkley on grass last year.

ORDER OF PLAY (all courts start 10am)

CENTER
[8] Sorana CIRSTEA (ROU) vs Denisa ALLERTOVA (CZE)
[WC] Sabina SHARIPOVA (UZB) vs Danka KOVINIC (MNE)
Katarina ZAVATSKA (UKR) vs [4] Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT)
[WC] Nigina ABDURAIMOVA (UZB) / Akgul AMANMURADOVA (UZB) vs [3] Dalila JAKUPOVIC (SLO) / Sabrina SANTAMARIA (USA)

COURT 1
Katarzyna KAWA (POL) vs Vitalia DIATCHENKO (RUS)
Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) vs Greet MINNEN (BEL)
[3] Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL) vs [Q] Liudmila SAMSONOVA (RUS)

COURT 2
[Q] Harriet DART (GBR) vs Anna KALINSKAYA (RUS)
[Q] Tereza MARTINCOVA (CZE) vs Irina-Camelia BEGU (ROU)
[1] Viktoria KUZMOVA (SVK) vs Francesca DI LORENZO (USA)
[4] Cornelia LISTER (SWE) / Yana SIZIKOVA (RUS) vs Olga GOVORTSOVA (BLR) / Valeria SAVINYKH (RUS)