Concluding the Round of 16 of the WTA Mubadala Silicon Valley Open on Thursday brings the two remaining seeds who received first round byes into action. American Amanda Anisimova and Belgium’s Elise Mertens will begin their campaign. Here’s a look at the matches on Day 4. Who’s booking a spot in the quarterfinals?
WTA Mubadala Silicon Valley Open Day 4 Predictions
Kristie Ahn vs Elise Mertens
Head to head: Ahn 1-2 Mertens
Truth is, I’m still surprised that Kristie Ahn bounced Ajla Tomljanovic in the opening round. The qualifier benefitted from the Aussie’s poor serving, though Ahn had troubles of her own. It was a match that featured 13 service breaks and far too many questionable second serves. If Ahn hopes to have any chance of seeing the quarterfinals, she’d better spend every available minute working out a service strategy.
Mertens is a strong returner, and you can expect her to attack any dubious serve. The #3 seed is a strong title contender, and I doubt she’ll get much opposition from the American.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Donna Vekic vs Victoria Azarenka
Head to head: First meeting
Donna Vekic should feel fortunate that she won her opener against Misaki Doi. A much lower ranked player, Doi capitalized off the catawampus Vekic serve. The Croat won a mere 34% of her second serve points, leading to six service breaks. Those are precisely the stats which Victoria Azarenka will exploit.
While Azarenka had a few hiccups in her service games, she has cleaned up the unforced errors. The Azarenka serve is much more dependable than the Vekic serve. And, combined with Azarenka’s attacking mindset, Vekic will spend much of the match fending off break points. Of course, there will be the temporary lapses which seem to be a constant in Azarenka’s matches. But, Azarenka is the more consistent of the two and has so much drive to lead her to the win.
Prediction: Azarenka is 2
Danielle Collins vs Zheng Saisai
Head to head: Collins 0-1 Zheng
It’ll be déjà vu for Danielle Collins against Zheng Saisai in the Round of 16. Very similar in style and ability to Tuesday’s opening round opponent Zhang Shuai, who took Collins to a decider. This should be another long and difficult match for the American. Zheng had a solid performance in her opening round against Heather Watson. Britain’s #3 won only four games in Zheng’s commanding win. No doubt this will be a close one, but Collins should have confidence on American soil, along with some crowd support – probably enough to edge this one out.
Prediction: Collins in 3
Amanda Anisimova vs Madison Brengle
Head to head: First meeting
In slightly more than an hour, Madison Brengle exited Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-0 6-3. It was a stellar serving performance in which Brengle won 81% of her first serve points and 56% on the second serve. And, not just solid serving, Brengle broke the German’s serve six out of 11 opportunities. Yet, Brengle hasn’t won two matches back to back since May.
Amanda Anisimova will start her San Jose campaign on Thursday – already three days into the tournament and the #4 seed starts on day four. While Wimbledon’s second round loss was surely a disappointment, Anisimova can attribute that to her 29 unforced errors and three service breaks. I’d guess those deficiencies were addressed and we’ll see far fewer errors off the teenager’s racquet. With a solid hard court game and a pro-Anisimova crowd, the 17-year-old should succeed in her quarterfinal bid.
Prediction: Anisimova in 2
Disagree with our WTA Mubadala Silicon Valley Open Day 4 Predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
