The Round of 16 is a wrap and the final eight are set at the WTA Mubadala Silicon Valley Open. In a surprising twist, the #3 seed Elise Mertens crashed out, along with #8 seed Danielle Collins. Here’s a look at the quarterfinal matches and the picks for who’s moving on to the semifinals.
WTA Mubadala Silicon Valley Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Carla Suarez Navarro vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head to head: Suarez Navarro 0-2 Sabalenka
This will be Suarez Navarro’s and Sabalenka’s first meeting of 2019 and it’s noteworthy because they are both much different players than during their two 2018 meetings. Sabalenka won both meetings, but that was at the height of her breakout run. In her opener against CoCo Vandeweghe, the Belorussian threw in six double faults and offered up six break point opportunities. If it weren’t for a sluggish CoCo Vandeweghe, the Sabalenka serve would have been broken more than once. Sabalenka is clearly a top tier talent, yet over the last six months, we’ve seen her game go completely off the rails.
Suarez Navarro will make Sabalenka earn every point. The Spaniard started slow against Bethanie Mattek-Sands who took the first set 6-3. Yet, Suarez Navarro was able to up her level, find that extra gear, and take the second set 6-1. Thanks in part to a fatigued Mattek-Sands, the #6 seed continued her roll and took the decider. Suarez Navarro can always get one more ball back in play. And, her ability to redirect off her single handed backhand is a formidable weapon.
This is another match that won’t be quick. I expect the Belorussian and Spaniard to battle through three tight sets. I’ll give the edge to Sabalenka who’s fresher and leads the head to head.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 3
Zheng Saisai vs Amanda Anisimova
Head to head: Zheng 0-1 Anisimova
Amanda Anisimova started her campaign today (Thursday) after receiving a first round bye. The #4 seed played Madison Brengle, easily winning 6-2 6-2. Brengle seemed out of sorts, with a first serve barely reaching 80 mph and slow groundstrokes which made you think that perhaps Brengle may be injured. Anisimova was able to generate her own pace and never let Brengle hold a single service game. The American teen’s serve was, however, broken four times. She will want to sharpen that up a bit before meeting Zheng.
Zheng ousted American Danielle Collins, dropping just two games in the match. Serving 76% of first serves in play, and winning 89% of second serves, Zheng excelled with her serve, which is usually not much of a weapon. In the victory, Zheng converted five of 11 break points, taking 27 receiving points from a struggling Collins. It was a consistent and methodical performance from the Chinese.
Anisimova should be considered the clear favorite in this match.
Prediction: Anisimova in 2
Kristie Ahn vs Donna Vekic
Head to head:
American qualifier Kristie Ahn continues to surprise. In the Round of 16, Ahn eliminated #3 seed Elise Mertens 6-3 6-3. Both Ahn and Mertens did not impress with their service, each with 58% first serves in play. The difference came in Ahn’s ability to defend her second serve while punish Mertens’ second serve. I doubt anyone saw Ahn reaching the quarterfinals, yet here she is. A straight sets victory over a player of Mertens’ caliber should certainly be a confidence builder.
After commanding the first 20 minutes of the match, Victoria Azarenka watched her 4-1 lead evaporate. Donna Vekic ran the next five games, thanks in part to the heavy unforced errors and double faults donated by Azarenka. What was a slow start for the Croat turned into commanding court coverage. Vekic still has some hiccups in her service – 4 doubles faults and a 58% first serve in play – but her ability to control the point when it counts is solid.
Prediction: Vekic in 2
Elina Svitolina vs Maria Sakkari
Head to head: Svitolina 1-0 Sakkari
When Elina Svitolina is on her game, she is nearly impossible to beat. In her last match, Svitolina got 47% of her first serves in play – a relatively low service percentage. Yet, the Ukrainian’s serve was only broke once. The #1 seed showed stellar defense, and that’s why she not only saved four out of five breaks of serve, but she broke Daria Kasatkina’s serve five of her seven opportunities. In the quarterfinal bout with Maria Sakkari, she has to sharpen up that serve.
It took Sakkari three sets to earn her quarterfinal berth. On full display was Mayo Hibi’s frustrating variety and craft, and it took the Grecian a bit to figure it out. But, Sakkari came up with an answer to Hibi’s tricky shots, though I’m sure it took much longer than the #7 seed had hoped. While Sakkari saved 15 out of 20 break points, a higher caliber player such as Svitolina won’t fetter away those break points.
Svitolina and Sakkari endured a three set battle at Wimbledon a few weeks ago. In truth, Sakkari had every opportunity to win that match, were it not for her 49 unforced errors. I expect this match will go the distance, and we’ll see a lot of momentum shifts. I think Sakkari learned some lessons from their last encounter and won’t make the same mistakes, and that’s what will give the Grecian a slight edge.
Prediction: Sakkari in 3
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Disagree with our WTA Mubadala Silicon Valley Open quarterfinal predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
