It’s taken us three days, but we finally wrap up the opening round of Istanbul on Wednesday. Who will advance to the second round? What upsets and great matches will we see? Let’s break it down for you.
WTA Istanbul Day 3 Predictions
Marketa Vondrousova vs Ajla Tomljanovic
Head to head: First meeting
The 19-year-old Czech Vondrousova is on a great run this year. She reached a final in Budapest and then reached two quarterfinals in the Sunshine Double. She’s also scored two Fed Cup wins last week. We believe that both players are immensely talented and will soon develop their tennis even further. However, on current form, you just have to believe in Vondrousova. The left-handed Czech has to be extremely confident at this point. Don’t expect Tomljanovic to go down easily though, her big-hitting tennis works great on clay as well (runner-up in Rabat last year, Roland Garros fourth round five years ago).
Prediction: Vondrousova in 3
Kateryna Kozlova vs Anastasia Potapova
Head to head: Potapova 2-0
This one is extremely tough to predict. Potapova is just 18 years old but her junior career was great (won 2016 Wimbledon), and she’s doing a pretty good job on the main WTA tour so far. She took both her previous meetings with Kozlova very comfortably. We’re going to go a little risky here and pick the Ukrainian. She already has six clay court matches under her belt this year and absolutely stormed through the qualifying draw. Kozlova has the edge of being already adjusted to the conditions in Istanbul and she can play the big points better thanks to her experience.
Prediction: Kozlova in 3
Kirsten Flipkens vs Ana Bogdan
Head to head: Flipkens 2-0
Clay has always been the Belgian’s worst surface. She’s been in the second round of the Roland Garros seven times and never managed to advance further. They haven’t met on clay before, which makes the head-to-head advantage much less important. Bogdan played very well in her second round loss to Sorribes Tormo in Bogota two weeks ago, and she also managed to qualify here in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Flipkens scored a win over Garbine Muguruza in the Fed Cup last week but we think she might be vulnerable here. On clay as the game gets more physical, Bogdan should be able to overpower the Belgian, whose brilliant shot-making abilities won’t matter that much.
Prediction: Bogdan in 3
Dayana Yastremska vs Kristina Mladenovic
Head to head: First meeting
Yastremska has been developing very quickly over the past few months. At 18 years old, this young woman already has two WTA titles to her name. She hasn’t played many clay court main draw matches yet, but her results from smaller events show she can definitely do damage on this surface as well. Meanwhile, the left-handed Mladenovic is still trying to find her 2017 form, where for two months it seemed like she might be the best player on the planet. Then she experienced a double-digit loss streak and never really recovered. Her game works best on clay and it’s not like she doesn’t have a shot at Yastremska, but the Ukrainian should be able to take the initiative with her outrageously powerful groundstrokes and not allow Mladenovic to feel too comfortable on the court.
Prediction: Yastremska in 2
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