The WTA Bronx Open Day 2 gets under way with CoCo Vandeweghe in action. As the players on the WTA tour prepare for the US Open, the battle to see who can find good form and resist succumbing to fatigue takes center stage in the Bronx. We also have predictions for four more Day 2 matches.
WTA Day 2 Bronx Open Predictions
Coco Vandewegh vs Anna Blinkova
CoCo Vandeweghe has had her most consistent success on the doubles court for the last few years. The last time she regularly challenged for titles on the WTA tour was during her best-ever 2017 season. Her opponent Anna Blinkova is a mostly untested Russian competitor. The two have never played before. Vandeweghe has the dual advantages of being both taller and more experienced than Blinkova. Vandeweghe’s current ranking, several hundred placed below Blinkova’s, is not an accurate representation of her talent. Since suffering an injury to her foot which lead to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), she has been mostly sidelined throughout 2019. Her return has not been an immediate success, but her former status as a top-10 player and the hometown crowd should see her through this match.
Vandeweghe in 2.
Zhu Lin vs Yulia Putintseva
Yulia Putintseva and Zhu Lin have never played each other. Zhu fought her way through qualifying, notably defeating Viktorija Golubic in three competitive sets to earn herself a spot in the main draw. Putintseva will be fresher since zhu has played three matches in the last three days, but she will have to contend with a confident competitor who has made multiple first rounds in 2019. Putintseva remains the favorite the only question os how hard Zhu can push her. If her performance in qualifying is any indication, a strongly contested match seems likely.
Putinseva in 3.
Karolina Muchova vs Viktoria Kuzmova
Karolina Muchova and Viktoria Kuzmova sit side-by-side in the rankings on the eve of their match. Kuzmova’s 2019 has not been exceptional, however, she has earned her first victories over a top 10 opponent, twice defeating Kiki Bertens in Dubai and at the French Open. Kuzmova’s game is solid and with a little more honing she could rise through the rankings. Muchova, for her part, reached the quarterfinals of a grand slam for the first time at Wimbledon. The New York Open will be Muchova’s return to competition after her quareterfinal defeat to Elina Svitolina. Kuzmova will likely be a little too consistent for Muchova but the women are ranked together for a reason: they are at similar stages in their respective careers. Both are likely to continue rising.
Kuzmova in 2.
Anastasia Potapova vs Alison Van Uytvanck
Alison Van Uytvanck has struggled in 2019. Outside of a semifinal showing at the Morocco Open in May, she has failed to have strong results. A former French Open quarterfinalist, she has displayed flashes of the inspired tennis of which she is capable, but rarely for long enough to secure match wins. 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova, a former junior No. 1, has been slowly working her way up the rankings and, in 2019, has begun to regularly feature in main draws on the WTA tour. She notably defeated multiple grand slam winner Angelique Kerber at the French Open for her first ever Grand Slam victory. Potapova is in a stronger position to make an impact at the New York Open and Van Uytvanck is unlikely to have the game to stop her.
Potapova in 3.
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