Chennai, November 4: Tjen continues her title defence against Garland after the rain

Chennai has spent the start of its week watching the sky. Monday's rain washed out the singles programme and pushed the first round into Tuesday. So the second round on November 4 arrives with almost no pause, and both of today's main pairings play singles on consecutive days.

I find both stories more interesting than the draw sheet suggests. One brings together two young players whose seasons were interrupted physically. The other is the defending champion facing a woman who also has warm memories of this venue. These are the two I'll go through:

• 09:30 — Robin Montgomery — Jeline Vandromme
• 11:00 — Janice Tjen — Joanna Garland

Times are UTC.

Robin Montgomery — Jeline Vandromme

This one looks like a meeting of two players who have both been away from the court long enough to stop taking it for granted. Montgomery, the 22-year-old American left-hander, had a procedure on a chronic wrist problem that broke up her previous season. Vandromme, the 18-year-old Belgian, lost weeks to a hamstring injury in September. Today they meet for the first time.

Montgomery has been candid that the wrist hurt her confidence as well as her tennis. Her goals for the comeback sound modest and very human: "Obviously, my first goal is just staying healthy and to have a full season" (Inside American Tennis). There are no reports of a fresh problem in Chennai, and I'd leave it at that. Sources even disagree about which wrist it was, which tells me how little is truly known about her current state.

Her opener against Panna Udvardy, ranked 86th, was a small weather system of its own. She took the first set, lost the second 1-6, then cleared the sky with a 6-1 decider. What stays with me is less the wobble than the reset afterwards. Before Chennai, though, she had lost to Lisa Pigato and Katie Volynets without taking a set.

Vandromme came back with a cleaner opener. She beat Kyoka Okamura 7-5 6-1: a tight first set, then growing control. Her own words from the layoff, posted on Instagram, were simple: "I'll do everything I can to get back on court as soon as possible" (Tennisplaza). She is back, but one completed match does not prove a fully healed hamstring. Her autumn also included a loss to Alycia Parks that ended in a retirement at 4-4 in the second set.

Curiously, both have lost to Pigato recently. Montgomery's 0-6 6-7(7) defeat began badly and ended in a close fight. Vandromme lost 3-6 5-7. To my eye, the key is movement. Montgomery's lefty patterns will pull a right-hander wide in unfamiliar directions, so the question is how freely Vandromme changes direction on that leg. I have no evidence of a problem, only a natural place to look.

The bookmakers lean towards Montgomery at 1.69, and I understand why: the lefty angles and the stronger level in her opener count. But her form swings like the weather, and I honestly can't call this with confidence. I think it goes long, and Over 22 games feels more natural to me than any clear winner. Montgomery is a slight favourite, but this match may well be decided by whichever body recovered better overnight.

Janice Tjen — Joanna Garland

Janice Tjen returns to a court that has only ever said yes to her. The 24-year-old Indonesian is the defending champion and has won six of six matches in Chennai. Her opener did nothing to break the spell: 6-1 6-2 against Katherine Hui, with an early lead in each set and no room for a comeback.

That ease is worth more than it looks after the rain. Tjen finished well ahead of Garland, so she carries less match play into the overnight turnaround. As for expectations, she has talked before about pressure turning into fuel: "I would say motivation. I don't think too much about it" (Times of India). That was said in April about representing Indonesia, not about this title. It still fits the way she has handled this venue.

Her season as a whole is shakier. She is just below break-even on hard courts in 2026, and recent losses to Ann Li, Ashlyn Krueger and Harriet Dart show a player who has had to grind through a bad stretch. Chennai, it seems, is where the confidence comes back.

Joanna Garland, 25, from Chinese Taipei, is not a tourist here either. She reached the semifinals last season and has a 4-1 record at the tournament. She beat Jil Teichmann 6-3 6-4 in her opener. Her recent results are mixed: a straight-sets loss to Xinyu Wang, a three-set loss to Tatiana Prozorova and some convincing wins in between. The two have never met.

The tactical knot is Tjen's variety: a heavy topspin forehand and a crafty backhand slice. If Garland lets the low slice pull her off balance, she will feed Tjen exactly the forehand she wants. If she stays steady and makes the champion defend, the rallies change shape. I suspect Tjen dictates more often than not.

A title defence and two fragile comebacks in Chennai

The day's main question is how bodies respond to back-to-back singles after the rain. For Montgomery and Vandromme, any long match also tests a wrist and a hamstring that kept them away from the court. For Tjen, the question is whether the calm she found here survives an opponent who also feels at home.

I'd pay most attention to the first hour of the morning match, where every sharp change of direction says something.