Camila Giorgi has avenged her early losses in Toronto and Cincinnati with another strong run at a North American hard court tournament and Magda Linette has strung together a dream run which began in qualifying. With spots in the final on the line, the semifinals of the WTA Bronx Open get underway beneath cloudy skies.
WTA Bronx Open Semifinal Predictions
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Camila Giorgi vs Wang Qiang
Wang Qiang is the highest ranked player by some margin in the semifinals. The top seed has not, however, had the cleanest entry into her match up with Camila Giorgi. Wang dropped her opening set against Anna Blinkova without winning a game. She recovered swiftly to claim a 0-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory. Giorgi, who has won both matches she and Wang have played, breezed past Alize Cornet 6-2, 6-1. This is particularly striking because Giorgi had never previously defeated Cornet on hard courts. The speed of the match will help Giorgi. Even though she had a day to recover after her thrilling round of 16 struggle against Andrea Petkovic, any reduction in the amount of time she had to spend fighting no court will be welcome especially when she faces a top 20 player in the semifinal.
Wang’s higher ranking and recent results make her the on-paper favorite, but Giorgi’s head to head advantage and her own form during the North American hard court season even the odds. Wang has improved since she and Giorgi last played in 2017, but even that improvement is unlikely to be enough to blunt Giorgi’s powerful, slugging groundstrokes.
Giorgi in 3.
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Katerina Siniakova vs Magda Linette
At some point in the last week, Magda Linette forgot how to lose tennis matches. In her quarterfinal against Karolina Muchova, however, she came close than she has at any point since beginning her run in qualifying in New York. Linette’s razor thin victory 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3) was not unlike her two tiebreak defeat of Anna Blinkova. What makes it more impressive is that she could still produce high level tennis after playing so many back-to-back matches. She also lost the first set and was chasing the score in the final two sets. Their composure during the final set tiebreak was impressive and reaffirmed the quality of not only her on court game, but also her metal fortitude.
Katerina Siniakova’s higher ranking and easier path to the semifinals belie the fact that the two matches she and Linette have played were easy victories for Linette. The two have not met in two years and Siniakova’s ranking and skill have risen considerably since their last encounter. Linette’s mental advantage and confidence may be enough to prevail against Siniakova, but Siniakova has become the better player.
Siniakova in 3.
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