With eight second-round matches on the schedule on day three at the WTA Guadalajara Open in Mexico, there promises to be plenty of entertaining tennis. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Nadia Podoroska vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto. But who will book their place in the quarterfinals?
WTA Guadalajara Open Day Three Predictions
Lauren Davis vs Danka Kovinic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Lauren Davis is enjoying a fine week at the WTA Guadalajara Open. The American, who was once a top 30 player before a succession of injuries derailed her career, began her campaign in the qualifying, where she beat Lara Arruabarrena from a set down, before hammering her compatriot Usue Maitane Arconada for the loss of only one game. She backed that up by getting the better of Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam in straight sets in the first round of the main draw.
She may well be feeling confident heading into her second-round clash with Danka Kovinic as a result. The Montenegrin has struggled so far this season, with her first-round win against Varvara Gracheva just her second of the year. The memories of her 0-6 0-6 loss in the first round at the Australian Open may also still be fresh in her mind. With Davis the superior player on hard courts and in better form, this should be a relatively comfortable win for the American.
Prediction: Davis in 2
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Leonie Kung vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
Head-to-head: first meeting
Leonie Kung made her name in 2019 with a run to the final at the Hua Hin Championships, but she has since struggled to establish herself as a tour-level regular. She did make an impressive start at the WTA Lyon Open in her most recent outing, thrashing Natalija Kostic without losing a game, but managed to win just three games herself in the second round. The Swiss did manage to get back to winning ways in the first round in Guadalajara, beating Nina Stojanovic convincingly, but she must work on her consistency.
Sara Sorribes Tormo, meanwhile, will be expecting to earn most of her match wins on the European clay, but the Spaniard made a solid enough start this week, coming from a set down to beat Greet Minnen 6-7 6-4 6-1. Her solid baseline play allows her to remain competitive against most opponents and she has a considerable edge in experience against Kung. Unless the 20-year-old is at her very best, expect Sorribes Tormo to edge this one.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 3
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Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Renata Zarazua
Head-to-head: Schmiedlova 1-1 Zarazua
It has been a promising few months for Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. She began the season with an impressive run through the qualifying at the Australian Open, going on to reach the second round, and she started her week at the WTA Guadalajara Open with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Nao Hibino. In Renata Zarazua, she faces an opponent who will have plenty of motivation playing on home turf, but also a player who is relatively inexperienced at tour-level. If Schmiedlova can find something close to her best tennis, expect the Slovakian to prove too strong for Zarazua and avenge the defeat she suffered at the 23-year-old’s hands in Irapuato last season.
Prediction: Schmiedlova in 3
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Tamara Zidansek vs Catherine McNally
Head-to-head: first meeting
It felt as though Catherine McNally’s progress had stalled over the past two years, but that is perhaps to hold the 19-year-old to an unfair standard based on the achievements of some of her peers. Regardless, she has started this season in reasonable fashion, posting a 4-3 record for the year so far. That fourth win came after a three-set battle in Guadalajara with her countrywoman Katie Volynets, in which the teenager did well to hold her nerve in the closing stages of the decider.
However, there are reasons to be concerned ahead of her second-round clash with Tamara Zidansek. Chief amongst them is the 11 double faults McNally hit in the first round. Particularly because Zidansek put in an assured performance in the first round to upset the third seed Anna Blinkova in straight sets, winning an impressive 82% of the points behind her second serve. If she can maintain that level in the last 16, she should have enough to account for McNally.
Prediction: Zidansek in 2
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