There should be plenty of entertaining tennis on quarterfinals day at the WTA Saint-Malo Open with four intriguing matches on the slate. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for all four quarterfinals, but who will book their place in the semifinals?
WTA Saint-Malo Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Jasmine Paolini vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Head-to-head: Paolini 3-1 Schmiedlova
Italy’s Jasmine Paolini made an indifferent start to the season, but she has shown some signs of turning that around so far at the WTA Saint-Malo Open. The 25-year-old opened her campaign with a hard-fought 7-5 5-7 6-2 win over France’s Elsa Jacquemot and she backed that up by battling past seventh seed Nina Stojanovic to reach her first quarterfinal of the season. Waiting for her on the other side of the net will be Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
The Slovakian too has not been at her best so far in 2021, although she did reach back-to-back quarterfinals in Guadalajara and Monterrey. She has looked sharp so far in Brittany, beating Alison Van Uytvanck for the second time in as many weeks in the first round before edging out Kateryna Kozlova. However, she has lost three of her four previous meetings with Paolini, including both matches they have played on the clay. Expect the Italian to emerge victorious once again.
Prediction: Paolini in 2
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Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-head: Sasnovich 5-1 Golubic
One suspects that this is not a match Golubic will start with much confidence. The Swiss has played some fine tennis this week to notch victories over Clara Burel and Greet Minnen, and is ranked eight places above Aliaksandra Sasnovich, but the Belarusian has won five of their six meetings. Golubic’s only win in their head-to-head came eight years ago in Palermo and since then it is a rivalry that Sasnovich has dominated, although their last four matches have gone the distance.
Sasnovich has also played well so far this week, with the world #92 overcoming a mid-match loss of focus to beat Tessah Andrianjafitrimo 7-5 0-6 7-5 before a 7-6 6-3 win over fourth seed Tamara Zidansek sent her into the quarterfinals. It would not be a surprise if this match also went the distance, with both players striking the ball cleanly. But it is hard to ignore such a lopsided head-to-head. Just as she has done in their past five meetings, expect Sasnovich to pick up the win.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
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Varvara Gracheva vs Rebecca Peterson
Head-to-head: first meeting
This looks to have the makings of a close contest. It is also a match that both players will surely be desperate to win, particularly with the start of the French Open less than three weeks away. Rebecca Peterson, the second seed at the WTA Saint-Malo Open, enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2019, winning two tour-level titles and breaking into the top 50, but she proved unable to back that up in 2020 with the Swede enduring a miserable run that she has still not entirely recovered from.
But she has now recorded six wins this season, including against Wang Xiyu and Anna Kalinskaya (via retirement) so far in Saint-Malo. Varvara Gracheva, meanwhile, has accounted for Clara Tauson and Viktoriya Tomova (also via retirement). But her style of tennis is not as well-suited to the clay as Peterson’s, with the Swede at her best on the terre battue. If the Swede can bring her forehand into play regularly, expect her to prove just about too strong for Gracheva.
Prediction: Peterson in 3
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Aliona Bolsova vs Harmony Tan
Head-to-head: first meeting
Aliona Bolsova is a formidable foe on the clay when she is at her best, but the Spaniard remains an inconsistent performer. However, despite having arrived in Saint-Malo after a run of poor results, Bolsova has played well so far in Brittany, dismissing Martina Trevisan, last year a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, in straight-sets before battling past the big-serving Oceane Dodin, 5-7 7-5 7-5. But she may need to be at her best up against Harmony Tan.
The Frenchwoman is enjoying a fine week at the WTA Saint-Malo Open. She started her campaign with a 6-4 4-6 6-3 over China’s Wang Yafan before hammering the veteran Arantxa Rus for the loss of only six games. However, there is a reason that Tan has never been ranked inside the world’s top 150. She moves well and has good hands, but she is undeniably short of power, particularly off the forehand side and all too often that allows opponents to dictate terms to her.
Prediction: Bolsova in 2
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