Quarter-final day at the Baltic Open in Jurmala looks like it could be a superb day of tennis. The home supporters still have their hero to cheer on, there are a number of young stars, including Anastasija Sevastova, involved and a great comeback story continues
WTA Jurmala Quarter-Final Predictions
Anastasija Sevastova vs Irina Maria Bara
Head-to-Head Record: 1-0
Anastasija Sevastova took the long road to victory in her second-round battle with Dalila Jakupovic, coming back from a break down in the final set to be victorious. This will have taken more out of her than she would have hoped.
Bara also had to take three sets to beat her opponent, but in contrast to Sevastova, she cruised the final set and was comfortable a long way from the end.
Their previous meeting was on clay last year and was a drawn-out three-set affair. Sevastova is clearly the more consistent player but Bara is definitely capable of troubling her, especially on this surface. The Anastasija Sevastova serve will not be as penetrative here and she will need to play well on return for this to be a comfortable win.
Prediction: Sevastova in 3
Patricia Maria Tig vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-Head Record: 0-1
Both of these players are in top form right now. The Romanian, Tig, achieved her eighth victory in nine matches by seeing off Anhelina Kalinina in straight sets, showing a killer instinct in the big points.
The young Russian prospect, Potapova, took a more circuituous route against Latvian wildcard, Diana Marcinkevica. Despite being a break up for a comfortable straight-sets triumph she allowed the Latvian to come back and win the second set to go into a needless third. This may come back to haunt her, if not in this match, then later in the tournament.
It’s still fairly difficult to assess Tig based on only ten matches since her two-year absence, but we do know that her confidence will be sky-high. Potapova is beginning to look like the real deal, recently beating Angelique Kerber comfortably at Roland-Garros. She has an ability to dominate sets, but also as so often, this comes with the tendency to drop them just as quickly.
Prediction: Tig in 3
Katarzyna Kawa vs Chloe Paquet
No Head-to-Head Record
The most surprising quarter-final in Jurmala comes between these two players who, both in their mid-twenties, are pretty much at their peak WTA ranking, just inside the top 200.
Despite having similar rankings, Kawa has the most impressive record. She has a winning record overall on the WTA this year where Paquet does not. She also has a better win percentage on clay and more titles to her name.
Paquet will be on cloud nine still after turning around a set and a break deficit to her countrywoman Caroline Garcia in Round 2. This after never previously taking a set from her in three previous encounters. Kawa will need to be strong in the early rallies to quell the momentum from that victory.
Prediction: Kawa in 2
Bernarda Pera vs Nina Stojanovic
No Head-to-Head Record
Pera came from a set down to completely dominate the talented Ukrainian Elena Rybakova in the late match on Day 4. Although the match went three sets, it wouldn’t have taken much out of the American physically.
Stojanovic did as predicted in Day 4 predictions and beat Paula Ormaechea comfortably, losing only three games.
Pera is the player with the higher ranking and most experience in the latter stages of WTA International events. Stojanovic is actually ranked outside the top 200 but is playing on total confidence right now having won nine straight matches.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Stojanovic starting quickly and getting ahead in the match. However, the quality of the Pera serve and consistency of her play should see her through to another semi-final.
Prediction: Pera in 2
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