Bertens part of varied programme on Thursday

The fourth day of the Libéma Open will start with the first performance of the two French favourites for the title. Subsequently, the spotlights will be aimed at the Dutch and Belgian ladies.

If the tournament run according to the seedings, Adrian Mannarino (1) and Richard Gasquet (2) would play the final on Sunday. On Thursday the two Frenchmen will hit their first balls this week after receiving byes. It is a special week for Mannarino as it is the first time he is top seed at an ATP tournament. The world’s number 25 can gradually get used to this status, he will play his first match against his compatriot Jeremy Chardy on court 1.

Two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Gasquet will play at 11 am on centre court against Evgeny Donskoy. The Russian may not belong to the absolute top, but  did you know that he is only one of the few who could beat Roger Federer in 2017? We shall see if the 28-year-old Russian from Moscow can deliver another surprise

The second match on centre court will be between fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Malek Jaziri. They are by far the best players from Greece and Tunisia, respectively.

Elise Mertens will play in the third match followed by Kiki Bertens against Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens. Bertens will be eager to win after her defeat against Flipkens in Nürnberg on clay. However, grass is Flipkens favourite ground. In 2013 she reached the final in Rosmalen and the semi-final at Wimbledon.