Just four women remain in contention at the WTA Parma Open. All will surely be desperate to keep their charge towards the title going, particularly with the start of the French Open now barely a week away. But who will book their place in Saturday’s final and who will fall short?
WTA Parma Semifinal Predictions
Cori Gauff vs Katerina Siniakova
Head-to-head: Gauff 1-0 Siniakova
Cori Gauff has been having some week at the WTA Parma Open. In fact, she has put together an excellent clay-court swing. The American arrived in Emilia-Romagna fresh from making the semifinals across Italy in Rome and she has maintained that fine form so far in Parma. She opened her campaign with a hard-fought 7-6 7-6 win over Kaia Kanepi and she backed that up with more comfortable straight-sets wins over Camila Giorgi and her compatriot Amanda Anisimova to reach the last four.
However, she may well be tested up against Katerina Siniakova. The Czech, who has a fine clay-court record, has already claimed the scalp of Serena Williams this week and will surely be full of confidence. Her ability in the forecourt combined with her power from the baseline ensures she is always a dangerous opponent on this surface. But Gauff has already established as one of the WTA Tour’s better defenders and she should have enough quality to pick Siniakova off more often than not when the Czech rushes the net.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
Embed from Getty Images
Sloane Stephens vs Wang Qiang
Head-to-head: Wang 2-0 Stephens
Sloane Stephens has made a welcome return to form at the WTA Parma Open. The American, who made the French Open final in 2018 but has performed inconsistently since, started her week against fellow American Catherine McNally, getting the better of the young 7-6 6-4 to reach the second round. She battled bast fourth seed Daria Kasatkina in three sets there before thrashing Sara Errani 6-3 6-0 to reach her first semifinal of the season.
But she has lost both of her previous meetings with Wang Qiang, who has also looked sharp this week. The Chinese opened her tournament with a battling three-set win over Japan’s Misaki Doi before beating the Italian wildcard Martina Di Giuseppe 6-4 6-4 to reach the last eight. There she proved too strong for second seed Petra Martic, winning 7-6 3-6 7-5. However, she has played a lot of tennis so far this week and fatigue could prove an issue. Particularly against a player with Stephens’ athletic prowess.
Prediction: Stephens in 3
Main photo:
Embed from Getty Images
