The WTA tour shifts focus to the brief European clay-court season post-Wimbledon. This event is one of two 250-level events played on the dirt this week and features the French Open semifinalist Tamara Zidansek. Who will advance in an action-packed Day 1 of the WTA Lausanne Open? We have predictions for all the matches.
WTA Lausanne Day 1 Predictions
Tamara Zidansek vs Marina Melnikova
Head-to-head: Zidansek 1-0 Melnikova
Zidansek produced an eye-catching run at the French Open last month. Considering that she could have gone out of the tournament at the first hurdle, tennis served up a reminder of fine margins. She saved a match point in beating Bianca Andreescu. And Zidansek went all the way to the semifinals. It culminated in a Top 50 debut and the baggage of playing qualifying matches at these low-tier events has now been removed. The Slovenian is the top seed and is a natural favorite to progress against an opponent who has never been ranked higher than world #170.
Prediction: Zidansek in 2
Zarina Diyas vs Simona Waltert
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zarina Diyas’ ranking has plummeted substantially after a mixed first half of the season. She started the year ranked 80th in the world, but has dropped to 101st. Her 20-year-old opponent Simona Waltert is no stranger when it comes to dishing out upsets on home turf. Waltert’s only main draw win in Laussane came against the former world #9 Julia Goerges. She has been in splendid form on the ITF circuit and will be keen to repay the tournament organizers after getting a wild card yet again.
Prediction: Waltert in 3
Clara Burel vs Susan Bandecchi
Head-to-head: first meeting
Clara Burel is a former junior No.1 and is a player with bags of talent. But Burel’s transition from the lower rungs of the WTA to the main tour has been very slow. Her opponent Susan Bandecchi possesses a very unorthodox style of play. She has colossal ball toss on serve and can be a nuisance in baseline exchanges when she starts to hit with spin. But Burel’s power-packed forehand should dominate this match.
Prediction: Burel in 3
Fiona Ferro vs Harmony Tan
Head-to-head: Ferro 2-0 Tan
Fiona Ferro will look to fortify her status as the defending champion from 2019. But she has been woefully out of form in recent months. She is 8-11 for the season, winning just one match in her last five tournaments. But there is a very good chance of Ferro getting out of that predicament on Monday. Her countrywoman Harmony Tan has played a blinder this season, but there are serious question marks about her fitness. She retired mid-match in an ITF event in Montpellier last week for an undisclosed reason. With that said, Ferro looks primed to extend her winning streak against Tan.
Prediction: Ferro in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
