Day 2 at the Monterrey Open saw all three Grand Slam champions in the draw come out with victories, as Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber, and Garbine Muguruza all won. How will the matches play out on Day 3? Read on to find out!
WTA Monterrey Open Day 3 Predictions
Nao Hibino vs Sachia Vickery
Head to Head: 1-0 Vickery
The first matchup of the day features two players out of the Top 100, as No. 114 Nao Hibino takes on No. 134 Sachia Vickery. Hibino is putting together a very a solid season, although mostly at the ITF level. Vickery has struggled, but did have two great wins over Jennifer Brady and Iga Swiatek to qualify for Miami. Hibino also qualified for Miami, beating Eugenie Bouchard and Magda Linette.
The Head to Head is 1-0 to Vickery, with Sachia coming through in a hard court match in Toronto in straight sets. The first set was tight, but Vickery won the second set 6-0. In this tournament, Vickery beat Top 50 player Alison Riske in the first round, while Hibino snuck by Giuliana Olmos in the first round. Given that fairly surprising scoreline for Hibino, and Vickery beating Riske, it seems like Sachia will be moving on.
Prediction: Vickery in 2
Magdalena Rybarikova vs Stefanie Voegele
Head to Head: Never Played
Magdalena Rybarikova takes on Stefanie Voegele in the second round of Monterrey, and it is setting up to be a battle. Rybarikova, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, has struggled this season, only winning one match coming into this tournament. However, she had a nice comeback win over Misaki Doi in the first round, coming back from a set and 3-0 down in the second set.
While Voegele did not have a good start to the season in Australia, her run in Indian Wells was encouraging, which included another win over Sloane Stephens. Stefanie also took care of Ana Bogdan in straight sets in the first round, a solid win for the Swiss. In this matchup, it will all come down to whether Voegele will be able to handle Rybarikova’s unconventional game, and whether Magdalena will have the confidence to finish the match off. I think that Rybarikova will flummox Voegele just enough to sneak out the win.
Prediction: Rybarikova in 3
Dalia Jakupovic vs Kirsten Flipkens
Head to Head: 1-0 Flipkens
Dalia Jakupovic and Kirsten Flipkens will battle for the second time this season in the second round of Monterrey. Jakupovic started out the season weak, but has picked it up since her last Fed Cup match, and has put together a fairly solid season since then. Flipkens has not played much since the Australian Open, but overall has been relatively solid all year. A win here could see the winner facing off with Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals, if Kerber gets past Karolina Muchova.
Flipkens, known for her backhand slices and net play, totally baffled Olga Danilovic in the first round, only winning three games in an easy win. Jakupovic also won easily, beating Harriet Dart 6-2, 6-3. When these two players battled in the first round of Hobart this year, Flipkens won a tight straight set match 6-4. 7-5, despite Jakupovic being up a break in both sets. I like Flipkens, especially after that first round performance, to be up to the challenge again, although don’t be surprised if Jakpovic sneaks a set.
Prediction: Flipkens in 3
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs Ivana Jorovic
Head to Head: Never Played
Ivana Jorovic looks to hand Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova the same fate she handed to former finalist Timea Babos as the two tangle in the second round of Monterrey. Jorovic has been in great form, winning at least two matches in every tournament she has entered this season (including qualifying). She will look to extend that streak tonight when she battles Pavlyuchenkova. Anasatasia had a rough time in Indian Wells and Miami, but has put together a good season so far, getting within one set of the Australian Open Semifinals.
Pavlyuchenkova seemed to put the disappointment of her Sunshine Double results behind her in annihilating Anna Blinkova in the first round. Pavlyuchenkova won 6-0, 6-3 in less than an hour to meet Jorovic. Jorovic lost the first set to Babos easily, but didn’t give up and came back for the 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win. Jorovic has had a great season, and both players showed promise in the first round. However, given that Pavlyuchenkova has a higher base level than Jorovic (she was once No. 13 in the World), and how good she played in the first round, one has to expect that she will come out of the match with the win.
Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova in 3
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