There has been plenty of entertaining tennis so far at the WTA Saint-Malo Open in Brittany. Day four will see the conclusion of the second round with three matches on the slate. All six players in action will surely be eager to book their place in the quarterfinals, particularly with the French Open less than a month away. But who will reach the last eight?
WTA Saint-Malo Open Day 4 Predictions
Tamara Zidansek vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Head-to-head: Zidansek 1-1 Sasnovich
Tamara Zidansek has not yet managed to make much of an impact at the very highest levels, but the Slovenian has proven herself an effective competitor, particularly on her favoured clay. Her run to the final in Bogota illustrates as much, with Zidansek picking up some creditable wins before coming up short against Maria Camila Osorio Serrano. She backed that up with a fine start to her campaign at the WTA Saint-Malo Open, beating Tereza Martincova from a set down.
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, meanwhile, remains plagued by inconsistency. At her best, the Belarusian is a formidable opponent, but she too often loses her way. In fact, her opener in Saint-Malo is an almost perfect example of that, with Sasnovich completely losing her focus midway through her clash with Tessah Andrianjafitrimo. She managed to recover to win -5 0-6 7-5, but any repeat will almost certainly be punished by the in-form Zidansek.
Prediction: Zidansek in 3
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Anna Kalinskaya vs Rebecca Peterson
Head-to-head: first meeting
Having endured a miserable run in 2020, Rebecca Peterson has restored at least a semblance of normality in 2021. The Swede has not exactly been pulling up trees – she arrived in Saint-Malo with a 4-4 record for the season – but it has been an improvement. She will also, one imagines, be glad to be back on her preferred clay, with Peterson typically playing her best tennis on the terre battue. That said, she was made to work very hard in the first round by Wang Xiyu.
Anna Kalinskaya did not have things all her own way either, but the Russian dug out a 6-0 4-6 6-2 win over home hope Amandine Hesse. But although the Russian looks to have a bright future in the sport, she has not yet looked particularly comfortable on the clay. If Peterson can rediscover some of the tennis that took her into the world’s top 50 and to two WTA-level titles, this is a winnable match for the second seed. Expect Peterson to have just about too much for the 22-year-old Kalinskaya.
Prediction: Peterson in 3
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Viktoriya Tomova vs Varvara Gracheva
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both Viktoriya Tomova and Varvara Gracheva scored battling wins to open their accounts at the WTA Saint-Malo Open. Tomova got the better of the struggling eighth seed Christina McHale in three sets, whilst Gracheva rallied from a set down to beat the rising star Clara Tauson. Another competitive clash could well be in the offing here. Tomova has the advantage in experience, with the Bulgarian six years older than her opponent. But she has also never been ranked inside the top 100 and whilst that looks likely to change sooner rather than later, it also illustrates that it is world #90 Gracheva who has the higher ceiling. Expect the Russian to demonstrate why here.
Prediction: Gracheva in 3
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