Wednesday at the 2021 WTA Viking International at Eastbourne will feature eight second-round matches. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka takes on Alison Riske, whose best surface is, by far, grass. Who do you think will prevail? We also predict the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
WTA Eastbourne Day 3 Predictions
Shelby Rogers vs Camila Giorgi
Head-to-head: 1-1
Both ladies have a lot more experience on this surface than most players on the tour but it’s Camila Giorgi who has an excellent track record. The Italian won a title at Rosmalen six years ago and has been playing very well here from the beginning of the qualifying campaign. With a playing style like hers, most of the matches she plays are on her racket. This surface definitely plays into her assets.
Prediction: Giorgi in 2
Coco Gauff vs Anastasia Sevastova
Head-to-head: Sevastova 2-0
It’s a quick turnaround from clay to Cori Gauff, mainly as this season has been by far the best of her career–a second WTA title and a quarterfinal appearance at Roland Garros. But the American appears to be handling it very well and after all, Wimbledon is where she first made her mark on the WTA Tour. Despite losing two recent encounters to Anastasia Sevastova, it looks like the youngster has made stunning progress in the last couple of months, also by developing more attacking weapons. It should come in handy here.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
Jelena Ostapenko vs Ons Jabeur
Head-to-head: 1-1
A player with Jelena Ostapenko’s power should never be disregarded on grass, especially as the Latvian is a former Wimbledon semifinalist. But she’s clearly not the in-form player here. Ons Jabeur finally captured a WTA title that had eluded her for so long last week and doesn’t appear to be running on fumes at all. Her wide repertoire and variety of spins should help her disrupt the rhythm of the power-hitting opponent.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
Aryna Sabalenka vs Alison Riske
Head-to-head: Sabalenka 3-0
Alison Riske is one of the very few grass-court specialists in the women’s game with 63% matches won on this surface on the WTA Tour, compared to 46% on hard and 31% on clay. However, she’s been struggling with injuries of late and couldn’t realize her full potential. Aryna Sabalenka defeated her each time they played, although each of these matches went three sets. Riske would usually have a very good chance to make the upset here, but as she’s still not in her best rhythm, match toughness should be on the Belarusian’s side.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
