There should be plenty of entertaining action on semifinals day at the WTA Lausanne Open, with two intriguing matches on the slate in Switzerland. All four players will no doubt be keen to book their place in the final, particularly as the clay-court season is drawing to an end for the year, but who will advance and who will fall to defeat?
WTA Lausanne Semifinal Predictions
Caroline Garcia vs Clara Burel
Head-to-head: first meeting
This should be an entertaining match. Caroline Garcia has perhaps not made the most of her talent – though it should be remembered that she has been ranked as high as world #4 and is just 27 – but when she is at her best she is a very dangerous opponent. She has been playing something close to her best tennis so far this week. She opened her campaign by brushing aside Alexandra Dulgheru 6-2 6-2. She was tested by Astra Sharma in the second round, but won 7-6 3-6 6-3 before beating Zarina Diyas 7-5 6-2 in the quarterfinals.
Clara Burel, meanwhile, does not have the weight of experience on her side, but she clearly has a bright future and has impressed this week with wins over Susan Bandecchi, Kamila Rakhimova and second seed Fiona Ferro, dropping just one set in the process. There is little between this pair, but although Garcia has played well this week, it is sometime since she won a ‘big match’. Burel’s youthful confidence might just carry her through into the final.
Prediction: Burel in 3
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Tamara Zidansek vs Maryna Zanevska
Head-to-head: first meeting
There is no doubt who is the favourite coming into this match. Tamara Zidansek, having worked hard to establish herself as a regular presence on the WTA Tour, recently broke into the higher echelons of the game with an impressive run to the French Open semifinals. She did fail to back that up at Wimbledon, but faced eventual-finalist Karolina Pliskova in the first round. After losing in the quarterfinals last week in Hamburg, she has looked sharp at the WTA Lausanne Open.
The Slovenian has beaten Marina Melnikova, Mandy Minella and Lucia Bronzetti, though she was twice taken the distance. Maryna Zanevska, meanwhile, has been enjoying an excellent week, picking up wins over third seed Jil Teichmann, Stefanie Voegele and Natalia Vikhlyantseva. But Zanevska, currently ranked 193rd in the world, has very little experience of tennis at this level, whereas Zidansek has developed the welcome habit of getting across the line in matches. Expect her to do so again here.
Prediction: Zidansek in 3
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