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Linz Open Quarterfinal Predictions Including Cori Gauff vs Kiki Bertens

Kiki Bertens China Open

Just two seeds remain in contention at the 2019 Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Last year’s runner up Ekaterina Alexandrova will face Kristina Mladenovic. Meanwhile, the top seed Kiki Bertens will try to take another step on the way to securing her WTA Finals berth. Standing in her way will be 15-year-old American prodigy Cori Gauff. Who do you think will advance?

WTA Linz Open Quarterfinal Predictions

Elena Rybakina vs Jelena Ostapenko

Head-to-head: First meeting

Although definitely not an icon of consistency, Jelena Ostapenko’s high-risk high-reward game has been working extremely well. The Latvian has managed to dispatch Tamara Korpatsch with the loss of just four games and then take down Alize Cornet via second set retirement. Elena Rybakina will be a big step up in competition. The 20-year-old Kazakh has jumped over 150 ranking places since the beginning of the year and captured her maiden WTA title in Bucharest. She’s no stronger to playing indoors, having won two 25k events on this surface in March. Jelena Ostapenko has the ability to keep Rybakina on the back foot and should be able to play the match on her own terms.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3

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Viktoria Kuzmova vs Andrea Petkovic 

Head-to-head: Petkovic 1-0

Andrea Petkovic has gone a little under the radar this week, despite giving two of her best performances in a while. The German first gave Jil Teichmann just two games and then upset fifth seed Julia Goerges 7-6 6-0. In the twilight of her career, Petkovic often struggles with consistency and only rarely produces these kinds of performances. Viktoria Kuzmova has managed to upset Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round, storming back from 2-4 in the decider. The Slovak is in her breakthrough season and has majorly improved her game lately. However, Petkovic’s experience and baseline craftiness should get her over the line here.
Prediction: Petkovic in 3

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Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Kristina Mladenovic

Head-to-head: First meeting

A runner-up here last year, Ekaterina Alexandrova is once again finding a way to shine at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. The Russian defeated Kristyna Pliskova and Laura Siegemund in highly-entertaining three-set clashes. Kristina Mladenovic is among the most inconsistent players on the tour, but has so far managed to keep it together against Katerina Siniakova and Donna Vekic. The Frenchwoman is very well suited to indoor conditions and should prove a tough matchup for Alexandrova. However, I trust the Russian to be the more steady of the two and prevail in a tight contest.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3

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Cori Gauff vs Kiki Bertens

Head-to-head: First meeting

The hype for the 15-year-old Cori Gauff is obviously exaggerated, but one shouldn’t undervalue her potential. The American lost her final qualifying round against Tamara Korpatsch but was promoted to the main draw when Maria Sakkari had to withdraw. She made sure to use that chance and took down Stefanie Voegele and Kateryna Kozlova to advance to her first main tour quarterfinal. Kiki Bertens is seeking a WTA Finals berth and should be very motivated to win here. The Dutchwoman survived in-form players Misaki Doi and Alison Van Uytvanck and should continue to cruise here. Gauff’s potential is possibly at least as big as her opponents’, but her game is still very raw. Expect the experience and the reliability of Bertens to prevail.
Prediction: Bertens in 2

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