Day 2 here at the WTA Washington Open (The Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) brings some home favourite American players that will no doubt make the fans happy. Players such as Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys are already established household American names, but new American names such as Allie Kiick, Hailey Baptiste, and Catherine McNally are in action–names most fans have never heard of. (And don’t worry; we also have predictions for the other four Day 2 matches–including teenage phenom Coco Gauff.)
WTA Washington Open Day 2 Predictions
Monica Puig vs Allie Kiick
Head-to-head: First meeting
Kiick has been spending the majority of her season playing ITF tournaments due to her ranking not being high enough. It will for sure be a big jump for the American from playing players that are outside of the top 100 to suddenly playing a player ranked 44 in the world. Kiick will need to adjust quickly to Puig’s fast style of play and especially her flat forehand in order to make this match a competitive affair.
Even though the current Olympic champion isn’t playing great, the Puerto Rican is the better player has more experience in these kinds of matches, so she should advance through.
Prediction: Puig in 2
Lin Zhu vs Catherine McNally
Head-to-head: McNally leads 1-0
This will be a big step up for both players as both of them have spent the majority of this season playing qualifying tournaments or ITF tournaments. Even though McNally is still only 17, she has the game to cause an upset here. Factors such as the home crowd support and belief her in her own game are important and will get her over the finish line.
Prediction: McNally in 2
Sloane Stephens vs Rebecca Peterson
Head-to-head: First meeting
Stephens has beaten some top players and has had some good runs in tournaments in the past few months so will have a lot of confidence into this match. Peterson has had a good season, but the majority of the time is unable to string back-to-back wins in WTA tournaments.
Stephens should get through this match without much trouble, as Peterson will find it difficult to deal with Stephens’ pace of her groundstrokes and a crowd that will no doubt cheer for Stephens.
Prediction: Stephens in 2
Madison Keys vs Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-head: First meeting
This will be Baptiste’s first WTA Tour event of her career and she will no doubt be nervous playing one of the best players in the world in her first match.
If the 17-year-old Baptiste wants to have any chance of winning this match, she would need to compose her nerves very quickly, stick to her game plan, and not let Keys’ powerful groundstrokes intimidate her in any way. Even though Keys is not playing her best tennis right now, her experience in WTA main draw matches should get her through to the second round.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Disagree with our WTA Washington Open Day 2 predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
