Although the tennis world may remain focused on the ongoing Australian Open, there should be no shortage of entertaining action across Melbourne Park at the WTA Phillip Island Trophy. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on quarterfinals day, but who will book their place in the semifinals?
WTA Phillip Island Trophy Quarterfinal Predictions
Rebecca Peterson vs Danielle Collins
Head-to-head: Peterson 1-1 Collins
Danielle Collins, who made her name with a run to the Australian Open semifinals in 2019, will surely have been disappointed by her second-round exit from the 2021 edition, even if it did come at the hands of the sixth seed Karolina Pliskova. But she has bounced back impressively so far at the WTA Phillip Island Trophy, rallying from a set down to beat her compatriot Varvara Lepchenko before dismissing the challenge of Misaki Doi.
Rebecca Peterson, meanwhile, exited the Australian Open at the first hurdle, losing in three to Marketa Vondrousova, but she has looked sharp so far this week, picking up wins over Anastasia Potapova, Greet Minnen and Olivia Gadecki. That said, she has yet to face a player of Collins’ quality. The American is that much more comfortable stepping in and taking the ball early which should give her a decisive advantage on the fast, low-bouncing courts at Melbourne Park.
Prediction: Collins in 2
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Petra Martic vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: Martic 2-0 Kasatkina
This has the makings of an interesting match. Both Petra Martic and Daria Kasatkina could sorely use victory here to kickstart their 2021 campaigns, with both women’s returns in 2020 below-par. Martic, who as the second seed enjoyed a first-round bye at the WTA Phillip Island Trophy, opened her campaign with a hard-fought win over Rebecca Marino, which she backed up by thrashing home hope Kimberly Birrell 6-1 6-3.
Kasatkina started her week by beating Katie Boulter for the second time in as many tournaments, before ousting her countrywoman Varvara Gracheva in straight-sets. Kasatkina then came back from a set down to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. And whilst she has lost both of her previous matches against Martic, she has looked marginally the sharper so far at the WTA Phillip Island Trophy. Expect Kasatkina to edge out the Croatian and secure a place in the semifinals.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
Jil Teichmann vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Marie Bouzkova did not look at her best in the first round at the WTA Phillip Island Trophy, but was spared a potential early exit when her opponent Danka Kovinic retired with the score at 6-3 0-5. The Czech, however, deserves credit for taking advantage of that possible reprieve, having found something closer to her best tennis to pick up back-to-back straight-sets wins over Zhu Lin and Gabriella Da Silva Fick.
Jil Teichmann, meanwhile, has been putting a dent in Romanian aspirations, having beaten Mihaela Buzarnescu, from a set down, Monica Niculescu and Patricia Maria Tig, via retirement, in succession. However, it is Bouzkova who has the superior hard-court record and the higher ceiling on this surface. Teichmann has enough power from the back of the court, particularly off the forehand side, to keep this close, but expect Bouzkova to be the one to reach the last four.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 3
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Bianca Andreescu vs Irina-Camelia Begu
Head-to-head: Andreescu 2-1 Begu
It was hard to know exactly what to expect of Bianca Andreescu on her return to action at the Australian Open, but upon reflection the Canadian’s second-round exit was not entirely unforeseeable. After all, a degree of ring rust was inevitable after such a lengthy absence from competitive action. But she has looked to be recovering her footing on the match court at the WTA Phillip Island Trophy, opening her account by battling past Madison Brengle.
Andreescu then benefitted from Zarina Diyas’ retirement, with the Kazakh pulling out after losing the first set of their second-round clash 1-6. Irina-Camelia Begu, meanwhile, has looked sharp since arriving in Australia, a first-round loss at the Australian Open aside that is. This should be a good test for Andreescu as a result, against a player she has twice had to go the distance to beat. But just as she did in Indian Wells and Miami in 2019, she should have enough to advance at Begu’s expense.
Prediction: Andreescu in 3
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