Day three at the WTA Strasbourg International should see plenty of entertaining action, with every player in the draw surely determined to make the most of this last opportunity to gain some momentum before Roland Garros. Here at LWOT, we’re offering our predictions for every match on the slate on day three at the WTA Strasbourg International. But who will book their place in the last eight in Alsace?
WTA Strasbourg International Day Three Predictions
Jil Teichmann vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Jil Teichmann played a superb match against the American young gun Amanda Anisimova, winning 6-2 6-3. That win marked a return to form for the Swiss, who had excelled in reaching the final in Lexington and the second round in ‘Cincinnati’ as a qualifier, before suffering back-to-back first-round defeats at the US Open and in Rome. And having won two titles on clay already, the Swiss may well be targeting another triumph on the ‘terre battue’ in Strasbourg.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, has been struggling since the restart. The Russian elected not to play at the US Open, but lost in the first round in Prague and in the second round at the Italian Open either side of New York. She did manage to beat Alison Van Uytvanck in straight sets in the first round at the WTA Strasbourg International, but it was a far from convincing performance, with the Belgian holding set points in the second set only to fall short.
One positive for Pavlyuchenkova was that she played the big points well, notably saving seven of the eight break points she faced. But she also hit a concerning number of unforced errors, appearing to have little control of her game at times. Against a player of Teichmann’s quality, such profligacy will almost certainly be punished, particularly as the Swiss appears to have broken out of the brief slump that had afflicted her since the US Open.
Prediction: Teichmann in 3
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Magda Linette vs Elina Svitolina
Head-to-head: Svitolina 1-0 Linette
Magda Linette has played consistently, if not spectacularly, since the season resumed, with the Pole particularly impressive in reaching the third round at the US Open. She has handled the transition to the European clay well. She arrived at the WTA Strasbourg International fresh from reaching the second round at the Italian Open, where she beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the first round, and she was too strong for Pauline Parmentier in the first round in Alsace.
But Linette will face a stern test in the second round in the shape of second seed Elina Svitolina. The Ukrainian may not quite have fulfilled her potential, but she has an excellent record on clay, highlighted by twin triumphs at the Italian Open, and she should be match sharp having reached the quarterfinals in Rome last week. Her campaign did end in disappointing fashion, however, as she was thrashed in the last eight by Marketa Vondrousova, who won 6-3 6-0.
Nonetheless, it was a broadly positive week for Svitolina, who was playing her first tournament since winning the Monterrey Open in February. And this looks like a winnable match for the second seed. In this pair’s only previous meeting, Svitolina won 6-4 7-5 in the third round at the French Open and whilst Linette has improved since, so too has the Ukrainian. Her ability to inject pace from the baseline and to take the ball on the rise should prove to be the difference.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
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Alize Cornet vs Elena Rybakina
Head-to-head: Rybakina 1-0 Cornet
This should be some match. Elena Rybakina may have won their only previous meeting, which came at the Hobart International in January, in straight sets, but Alize Cornet arrived at the WTA Strasbourg International in good form having reached the fourth round at the US Open in her last outing. And she maintained that high-level against clay-court specialist Polona Hercog, beating the Slovenian 6-3 6-4 in her Strasbourg opener.
But Rybakina should not be underestimated. Although the Kazakh has not quite managed to maintain her superb early season form, she played some fine tennis to reach the third round at the Italian Open and proved too strong for Greet Minnen in the first round in Strasbourg, winning 7-5 6-4. Cornet, however, is amongst the best counter-punchers in the women’s game when she is on form and she should be able to frustrate the big-hitting Rybakina.
Prediction: Cornet in 3
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Clara Burel vs Zhang Shuai
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zhang Shuai arrived at the WTA Strasbourg International in dreadful form, having lost her last five matches in a run that stretched back to February, before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the Chinese was handed a relatively favourable draw in the qualifying, where she faced world #277 Storm Sanders and managed to eke out a three-set win. She repeated the feat against Ajla Tomljanovic, who has also been struggling badly of late, again winning in three.
2018 Australian and US Open girl’s singles finalist Clara Burel looks to have a bright future ahead of her. She took a step towards fulfilling that potential by scoring what is surely the finest win of her career to date by beating Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round at the WTA Strasbourg International. But she is very inexperienced at this level, having played the vast majority of her tennis at ITF events. Expect the experienced Zhang to prove too strong for the French young gun.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
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