Every singles player has now made their bow in the bubble at the Billie Jean King Center. Some have looked rusty, some have been superb, but all now are into the tournament and used to the conditions.
The standard of play looks set to rise with some exciting matches to took forward to. Who will make it into the final eight in the Western & Southern Open? We also have predictions for the day’s other four matches.
WTA Cincinnati Day 4 Predictions
Anett Kontaveit vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-Head Record: First meeting
Kontaveit continued her good form since the break by beating the WTA Lexington finalist Jil Belen Teichmann in straight sets. The WTA Palermo finalist was able to dominate on serve winning 70% of her service points and only being broken once against the Swiss.
Bouzkova, meanwhile, produced an exceptionally impressive turnaround against fellow Czech Petra Kvitova. Despite being dominated in the opening set the youngster wrestled the advantage away from the former Wimbledon champion at the death of the second set. The 22-year-old’s powerful game served her well, but her ability to take break-points was the real difference. Bouzkova took all of the break-points she created, whilst saving six from nine on her own delivery.
This level of performance on key points does not tend to remain consistent, however. Both players in this match-up have power and with that also comes inconsistency. There is very little to split the two in most form lines and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this go to a deciding set. The Estonian just about gets the nod here with the extra experience in tight matches and slightly greater variety in her game to adapt to the match situation.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 3
Jessica Pegula vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-Head Record: First meeting
Pegula has now dismissed more fancied countrywomen in her previous two rounds. The return game has been impressive against both Jennifer Brady and Amanda Anisimova, breaking four times in each match.
The Belorussian fifth seed made very hard work of her victory over CiCi Bellis in her opening match. She had five set points in the opener before totally losing control of her game in the tie-break. Sabalenka did come back and win the match but she never managed to fully convince at the same time.
If Pegula plays to a similar standard as she has so far this week then she stands a very good chance. Sabalenka is a higher class of opponent according to the rankings but unless she fixes her radar she will give away a lot of chances. Take Pegula to produce another shock in this match.
Prediction: Pegula in 3
Christina McHale vs Madison Keys
Head-to-Head Record: Jabeur 0-1 McHale
McHale’s performance against world #27 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the previous round veered from the sublime to the ridiculous. Excellent in the opening set, McHale threw away a 6-2 lead in the second-set tie-break only to emerge victorious 10-8 after saving two set points. There were lots of positives to draw on from that match though for McHale.
Jabeur continued her impressive 2020 with a great win over former US Open finalist Madison Keys. The Tunisian’s game style really played havoc with Keys and Jabeur will now be looking to go deep into this tournament.
It is often difficult to back up a big win in the following round of a tournament. This shouldn’t be expected of Jabeur though, the recent experience of backing up historic results must count for her in this instance. The Tunisian has the greater skill set, but also the wider implications that things can go wrong. On this occasion expect her flair to outdo the more functional style of the American.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
Johanna Konta vs Vera Zvonareva
Head-to-Head Record: First meeting
The British #1 was impressively dismissive of the veteran Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in the previous round. Konta lost just two games over an hour on court. This onslaught was built around an impenetrable serve, only six points were conceded on the Konta service across the match.
Zvonareva was not to be outdone though. The Russian 35-year-old also dropped only two games in her win over Laura Siegemund. Winning 65% of the points across the match underlined the veteran’s dominance.
The match will be decided on which player can make any in-roads into their opponent’s service games. Expect a low number of breaks as both women have a very good record of holding serve on hard courts. Over the last year, it has been Zvonareva with the more impressive return game statistics and that may just be what she can rely upon to get her through.
Prediction: Zvonareva in 3
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