Day 2 in Bogota sees the rest of the top seeds in the tournament in action. The likes of Sara Sorribes Tormo and Clara Tauson are hoping to claim a second title in 2021. Among those hoping to stop them is top seed Saisai Zheng. We take a look at who should move one step closer to the title when all is said and done on Tuesday in our WTA Bogota Day 2 predictions. We also predict the other Day 2 matches.
WTA Bogota Day 2 Predictions
Mihaela Buzarnescu vs Harmony Tan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Mihaela Buzarnescu is not the player she once was. However, the Romanian has shown signs of life so far in 2021. She is still a fair way off the player who won six ITF titles in 2017, but is dangerous nonetheless. She also has a very respectable record on clay. Buzarnescu will undoubtedly view this as a real opportunity to start trending in the right direction again. She is a top 100 player when at her best and a deep run here would bring her close to that threshold again.
Facing her is young French talent Harmony Tan. Tan won her first ITF title earlier this year in her home country. However, that title came on hard courts and so has most of her success thus far in her career. Her record on clay is rather abysmal, having not won more than two matches on the surface in any year. Given that poor record on the surface and Buzarnescu’s recent signs of form, the Romanian should advance here.
Prediction: Buzarnescu in 2
Tamara Zidansek vs Anna Kalinskaya
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Zidansek
This could be one of the better matches of the day in Bogota. Tamara Zidansek is an experienced campaigner on the WTA Tour and feels at home on the clay. In fact, she picked up a challenger title on the surface in both 2018 and 2019. The Slovenian is undoubtedly a dark horse to win this tournament given her abilities on clay. However, she faces an in-form opponent in Anna Kalinskaya.
Kalinskaya is on the verge of breaking into the top 100 after some good showings in the first quarter of 2021. The Russian looks to have real talent and may well have a breakout year if she carries on playing at the level she has done so far this year. Zidansek is the more experienced of the two and is probably more comfortable on clay. However, Kalinskaya is no slouch on the surface and probably has the bigger game. I expect this to be tight, but I think the Russian just edges it on current form.
Prediction: Kalinskaya in 2
Clara Tauson vs Daniela Seguel
Head-to-head: First meeting
Daniela Seguel is a veteran of the lower tours in the women’s game. She has never ranked inside the top 200 and that is unlikely to change given that she is already 28.However, she has won four ITF titles on clay and has a more than respectable record on the surface over the last eight or nine years. She also has the advantage of court familiarity after coming through qualifying to make the main draw. However, she will certainly have her hands full in her first main draw match.
Seguel’s opponent is teen sensation Clara Tauson. The Danish phenom has won four ITF titles and her first WTA title in Lyon earlier this year. All that has happened in the last eight months and she is still just 18 years old. However, almost all of her success so far has come on hard courts. She did amass a 12-2 record on clay courts last year, but is otherwise untested on the surface. This should be a good first test for the young Dane. Seguel is a competent clay courter, but one Tauson should beat if she plays at her best.
Prediction: Tauson in 3
Arantxa Rus vs Irina Maria Bara
Head-to-head: First meeting
Somewhat surprisingly, these two tour veterans have never met before. Arantxa Rus has been solid, if not spectacular, for well over a decade now on the women’s tour. She has just one ITF title to her name, but has finished the year inside the top 100 on four separate occasions. Two of those times were the last two years, and Rus is arguably playing the best tennis of her career at 30 years old. She will be hoping a good run in Bogota can help her climb to a new career high this year. However, she must get past Irina Maria Bara.
The Romanian has never broken into the top 100 on the tour and has no titles to her name. However, she has two years with 20 or more clay court wins to her name. As such, she will feel very comfortable and confident on the surface. It’s hard to pick between these two, and it may well come down to one or two points either way. That being said, Rus is playing better tennis this year, so I think the points will fall in her favour.
Prediction: Rus in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
