There should be plenty of entertaining action on day four at the WTA Bad Homburg Open. With Wimbledon looming large on the horizon, there should be no shortage of motivation for the eight players in action in Darmstadt. But who will book their place in the quarterfinals?
WTA Bad Homburg Open Day 4 Predictions
Patricia Maria Tig vs Nadia Podoroska
Head-to-head: Tig 1-0 Podoroska
Both Patricia Maria Tig and Nadia Podoroska are both more at home on the clay than the grass, but both made impressive starts to their WTA Bad Homburg Open campaigns. Podoroska, who made her name last season with a run to the French Open semifinals, began her week with a 6-0 6-3 win Germany’s Mara Guth, whilst Podoroska beat another home hope in Mona Barthel, also in straight-sets. This, however, looks likely to be more competitive.
Tig won their only previous meeting, which came back in 2019 in Seville, but it is surely Podoroska who comes into this match as the favourite, albeit narrowly. The Argentine may have struggled to back up her stunning run to the French Open semifinals last season, but she has been a consistent performer at tour-level for the most part and picked up some memorable wins. If she maintains the level she displayed in the first round, she should have just about too much for Tig.
Prediction: Podoroska in 3
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Alize Cornet vs Victoria Azarenka
Head-to-head: Azarenka 7-0 Cornet
It seems safe to assume that Alize Cornet would have been hoping to avoid Victoria Azarenka at the WTA Bad Homburg Open, having lost all seven of their previous meetings. But there was no such luck for the Frenchwoman, whose reward for beating Arantxa Rus 6-3 2-6 6-1 in the first round is an eighth shot at the Belarusian. Azarenka herself opened her campaign with a 7-5 6-0 win over her compatriot Yuliya Hatouka to bounce back from the disappointment of her semifinal defeat last week in Berlin. With this clearly a poor matchup for Cornet, expect Azarenka to secure her spot in a second-straight quarterfinal.
Prediction: Azarenka in 2
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Angelique Kerber vs Anna Blinkova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Angelique Kerber gave a reminder of her enduring grass-court pedigree with a 6-1 6-1 win in the first round over Ekaterina Yashina. But one suspects that she will face more resistance up against Yeshina’s compatriot Anna Blinkova. The 22-year-old Blinkova did not find things quite so straightforward in her opener, but finished strongly to oust the Danish teenager Clara Tauson in three sets, 7-6 4-6 6-2. That win will surely have given her a real confidence heading into this match.
However, Blinkova is yet to really convince at tour-level. Indeed, she has claimed just eight wins on the WTA Tour so far this season, which is two less than Kerber despite the German being in the midst of a below-par season. She does have a good grass-court resume – finishing as runner-up in the Wimbledon girl’s singles in 2015 – but she is outclassed on that front. If Kerber can find her best tennis, or something close to it, expect the German to prove too strong for Blinkova.
Prediction: Kerber in 3
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Petra Kvitova vs Ann Li
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ann Li has already carved out an impressive reputation in her nascent career, scoring some big wins on some big stages. She has the opportunity to pick up another famous scalp here up against 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The level of her tennis in her 6-0 6-4 win over home hope Anna Zaja suggests that she can expect to challenge the Czech at the very least. Particularly as Kvitova looked some way short of her best in her first-round win over Katarzyna Piter.
That being said, Kvitova should not be underestimated. She did manage to find her feet against the Pole, rallying from a set down to win 4-6 6-1 6-4, and it should not be forgotten that she was playing in her first grass-court match of the season. Li clearly has a bright future and may well prove to be a dangerous floater in the draw at Wimbledon – where she reached the girl’s singles final in 2017 – but Kvitova’s power should make this a challenge too far for the young American.
Prediction: Kvitova in 3
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