Day 3 at the Western & Southern Open sees last year’s US Open champion Naomi Osaka in action as well as an entertaining night match between Sloane Stephens and Yulia Putintseva. Find out who we think moves on to the round of 16 in Cincinnati, as well as our other predictions on the women’s side.
WTA Cincinnati Day 3 Predictions
Veronika Kudermetova vs Rebecca Peterson
H2H- 1-1
This is a great opportunity for both of these qualifiers to reach the third round. Peterson recorded an upset win in the opening round over Johanna Konta. Kudermetova has rolled in her last two matches defeating Monica Puig 6-2 6-1, and Bernarda Pera 6-2 6-3. This one can go either way, but I think Peterson’s win over Konta will have her full of confidence here in a match against Kudermetova.
Prediction: Peterson in 3
Donna Vekic vs Victoria Azarenka
H2H- Vekic leads 1-0
It’s a little surprising to see two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka on court 10 tomorrow against Croatian Donna Vekic. The two also played a couple of weeks ago in San Jose with Vekic getting a 6-4 6-3 win. Azarenka started strong, but fell apart at the end of the first set and never recovered in the second. Azarenka looked to be in good form against Belinda Bencic before she was forced to retire with a left foot injury. I think Azarenka continues where she left off today and even’s her H2H against Vekic.
Prediction: Azarenka in 2
Naomi Osaka vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
H2H- Osaka leads 3-0
It certainly seems as if this is a favorable matchup for #1 Naomi Osaka. One of her three wins over the Belorussian took place at last year’s US Open when Osaka won 6-0 6-0. Osaka was playing the best tennis in her career at that time, but that has to give her some extra confidence heading into tomorrow’s match. After an opening-round loss at Wimbledon Osaka was able to take a month off and seems to be fresh and playing well on her favorite surface. I don’t think she’ll have any issues here.
Prediction: Osaka in 2
Aryna Sabalenka vs Saisai Zheng
H2H- Zheng leads 2-0
Wednesday’s match will be a rematch of their final from San Jose just a couple weeks ago. Zheng got the better of Sabalenka, upsetting her in straight sets. Zheng is full of confidence right now playing the best tennis of her career. On the other hand, beating a high-quality player like Sabalenka twice in two weeks is a tough ask. Zheng will certainly be a darkhorse candidate to make a run at the US Open, but I think Sabalenka gets the win here.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Sloane Stephens vs Yulia Putintseva
H2H- Putintseva leads 2-1
Sloane Stephens has to be anxious to get back on the court after losing to Marie Bouzkova in Toronto. Nothing seemed to go right that night for Stephens and never looked comfortable throughout the match. If she’s looking for rhythm, it’ll be tough to get much against Yulia Putintseva and her unorthodox game. I think last week might have been a wakeup call for Stephens with the US Open less than two weeks away. I think Stephens wins, but Putintseva will keep it close.
Prediction: Stephens in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
Disagree with our WTA Cincinnati Day 3 Predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
