A busy day of play is ahead at the WTA Cincinnati, Western & Southern Open, on Tuesday as top players like Victoria Azarenka, Simona Halep, Ash Barty, and Coco Gauff take to the courts in early round action. We have all of your predictions for Tuesday’s matches.
Simona Halep vs Magda Linette
Halep won their only meeting, a competitive tilt on clay at the French Open two years ago, an early exit in Montreal after returning from injury was not the best sign for Halep’s form, though against Linette she will still have a solid chance as Linette was poor in Montreal, after reaching the quarterfinals at Stanford. I would expect Halep to continue to show signs of improvement and secure this win. Halep in 3
Marketa Vondrousova vs Belinda Bencic
The pair have split meetings this year, with Bencic winning at the Tokyo Olympics to win the gold medal, and Vondrousova winning in Miami earlier in the season. This is a strange, rare, matchup because it’s the first tournament match for both players since the Tokyo Olympics, and they are facing each other immediately, again. As Bencic won that match, the presumption is she should have the upper hand again, although anything is possible. Bencic in 3
Caroline Garcia vs Sloane Stephens
The qualifier Garcia leads the h2h 3-1 (including a win in Cincy), Garcia has qualified for this tournament, and prior to that, Montreal, now she’ll try to win a main draw match. Stephens is capable but has been highly inconsistent, and given the h2h, I’ll go with Garcia to get that elusive main draw win. Garcia in 2
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