MATCH POINTS

Wildcard Cagla Buyukakcay is the only former champion in Istanbul in the draw this year, having become the first ever Turkish WTA titlist in 2016 at the Istanbul Cup, held at the Spor Toto Tennis Park. Fresh off the Prague 125K quarterfinals last week, the local heroine takes on No.4 seed Caroline Garcia in the first round - to whom she lost their only previous meeting 6-2, 6-3 in round one of Wimbledon 2016.

Gallery: Local heroines: The last 30 WTA champions on home soil

No.6 seed Alison Van Uytvanck leads the head-to-head against Viktoria Kuzmova 2-1, though they have yet to play on clay. The Belgian defeated Kuzmova in straight sets in the 2018 Budapest semifinals and first round of the 2019 US Open, but lost 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 from a set and a break up in the second round of 's-Hertogenbosch 2018. Both players are looking for their first main draw win since the Tour resumption.

- Insights from
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alison van uytvanck
BEL
More Head to Head
75% Win 3
- Matches Played
25% Win 1
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viktoria hruncakova
SVK

Kateryna Bondarenko faces Danka Kovinic in a rematch of one of the longest matches of 2020 so far, a 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 marathon over two hours and 47 minutes in the first round of Acapulco. It was the Ukrainian mother-of-two's first win over Kovinic, who won a pair of clashes in 2015 in Prague and Tianjin.

Gallery: Marathon Marvels 2020: The year's longest matches

World No.272 Eugenie Bouchard has reached two WTA quarterfinals this season, in Auckland and Prague, but has come through qualifying for the first time since Luxembourg 2018 - the last tournament at which she made the semifinals - and faces Viktoriya Tomova for the first time.

ORDER OF PLAY

CENTER COURT (starts 11am)
Viktoria KUZMOVA (SVK) vs [6] Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL)
Not before 1pm
Viktoriya TOMOVA (BUL) vs [Q] Eugenie BOUCHARD (CAN)
Greet MINNEN (BEL) vs [Q] Tereza MARTINCOVA (CZE)
Not before 7pm
[WC] Cagla BUYUKAKCAY (TUR) vs [4] Caroline GARCIA (FRA)
[WC] Pemra OZGEN (TUR) vs Margarita GASPARYAN (RUS)

COURT 1 (starts 12 noon)
[8] Misaki DOI (JPN) vs [Q] Ellen PEREZ (AUS)
Kateryna BONDARENKO (UKR) vs Danka KOVINIC (MNE)
[Q] Olga DANILOVIC (SRB) vs Patricia Maria TIG (ROU)

COURT 2 (starts 11am)
[1] Alexa GUARACHI (CHI) / Desirae KRAWCZYK (USA) vs Lidziya MAROZAVA (BLR) / Andreea MITU (ROU)
[3] Kaitlyn CHRISTIAN (USA) / Giuliana OLMOS (MEX) vs Bibiane SCHOOFS (NED) / Rosalie VAN DER HOEK (NED)
Not before 1pm
Laura Ioana PAAR (ROU) / Julia WACHACZYK (GER) vs [2] Ellen PEREZ (AUS) / Storm SANDERS (AUS)
[WC] Eugenie BOUCHARD (CAN) / Basak ERAYDIN (TUR) vs Naomi BROADY (GBR) / Erin ROUTLIFFE (NZL)

2020 Istanbul highlights: Schmiedlova ousts Javan