The weather is meant to improve on Day 2 at the Baltic Open in Jurmala, Latvia, and so is the quality of tennis.
The two big hitters of female tennis in Latvia make their bows in front of their home crowdn and one should have it a bit easier than the other.
WTA Jurmala Baltic Open Day 2 Predictions
Anastasija Sevastova vs Varvara Flink
No head-to-head record
Latvia’s #1 graces the red clay on Day 2 and plays a young Russian with a good level of potential.
Flink and Sevastova actually have very similar win percentages over the last 12 months, but it’s safe to say that Sevastova has been operating at a slightly higher level than Flink.
This will be a match of strong serve vs excellent return as Sevastova has produced intimidating hold ratios, even on clay, in recent months. Flink, however, has impressed on return, creating a lot of break opportunities in her matches.
Sevastova should be extra motivated by playing in her home country and I expect her to use this to power to victory, though I don’t expect a walkover.
Prediction: Sevastova in 2
Elena Rybakina vs Xinyun Han
No head-to-head record
It will hopefully be very exciting to see the young Ukrainian Rybakina take to the court on Day 2.
She currently resides at her highest ranking of #106 at just 20 years old. Rybakina just won at WTA International level event in Bucharest last week so will be full of confidence.
Han, herself, has recently won a tournament, but only at ITF level in her native China. Since then she has been beaten by players much lower ranked than Rybakina, and lost in five of her last six first-round matches.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Jelena Ostapenko vs Bernarda Pera
No head-to-head record
Since winning at Roland Garros in 2017, Jelena Ostapenkohas been inconsistent, to say the least. The French Open was her last tournament win, and at the time it made her a Top 5 player and a Latvian hero .
She is now down at #79 in the rankings and only just ahead of her opponent, Pera, at #85. She holds a miserable 37% win rate on tour in the last 12 months, which drops to 33% on clay.
Bernarda Pera is a good player and her recent clay-court win record stands at an impressive 71%. She has been a tournament winner in the last year and carries confidence into this tournament following a run to the semifinals on the clay of Lausanne last week.
Prediction: Pera in 3
Krystina Pliskova vs Caroline Garcia
Head-to-Head Record: 0-2
It wasn’t that long ago that Garcia was building up a string of tournament wins that looked set to propel her to the very top of the game. However, she seems to have reverted to her usual, inconsistent level, just as quickly. The question is, does she have the quality to progress past the younger Pliskova?
As a big server herself it was surprising to learn that Pliskova struggles badly against other big servers, losing five of her last six against other players deemed to have a big serve.
On the other hand, Garcia has a shocking record against left-handers, again losing five of her last six against them.
On this occasion, Garcia’s edge on return will be decisive and see the second seed through to the next round.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Disagree with our WTA Jurmala predictions? Feel free to leave your own WTA Jurmala predictions in the comments.
