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Just four players remain in contention at the 2020 WTA Istanbul Cup. With the French Open now looming large on the horizon, all four women will surely be desperate to ensure that they get the perfect preparation for the third Major of the year by claiming the title. But who will reach Sunday’s final in Turkey’s second city?
WTA Istanbul Cup Semifinal Predictions
Tereza Martincova vs Patricia Maria Tig
Head-to-head: first meeting
It’s good to see the talented Patricia Maria Tig back in action after a terrible run with injuries and a pregnancy. That had seen Tig an inactive, unranked player as recently as 15 months ago, but the 26-year-old made an impressive return to on home turf in Bucharest and has kicked on since. She has played some fine tennis this week at the WTA Istanbul Cup, upsetting the second seed Rebecca Peterson 6-3 6-1 in the quarterfinals.
Tereza Martincova has also impressed in Istanbul, reaching her third tour-level semifinal, the first in three years. After coming through the qualifying, the Czech has reached the last four without dropping a set in the main draw, scoring straightforward wins over Carolina Garcia and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her last two matches. But Tig has the better record on clay and seems unlikely to give away nearly as many errors as Garcia and Sasnovich did. Expect her to reach the final.
Prediction: Tig in 2
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Eugenie Bouchard vs Paula Badosa Gibert
Head-to-head: Badosa Gibert 1-0 Bouchard
Paula Badosa Gibert will be looking for an improvement on her showing in her only previous tour-level semifinal, which ended in a straight-sets defeat to Kiki Bertens in Palermo. But she did beat Eugenie Bouchard in their only previous meeting, which came three years ago at an ITF event in Contrexeville. The Canadian has been playing great this week though, qualifying for the event and upsetting top-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Her quarterfinal victory was a lot tighter, however, but she hung tough win 7-5 win in the decider against Danka Kovinic. But that’s nothing compared to the drama endured by Badosa Gibert – her third set against Polona Hercog saw nine straight breaks of serve and Hercog refused to tap the racket with her at the end, the reason being a bad line call a couple of games back. Expect a close contest here, but Bouchard, at her best, is the better player and should be just about too strong for the Spaniard.
Prediction: Bouchard in 3
Main photo:
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