WTA Cleveland is moving into the second round now so there will be some interesting battles on Day 3. It is quite a light programme of singles matches but we have all four matches previewed in this article.
WTA Cleveland Day 3 Predictions
Magda Linette vs Linda Fruhvirtova
Head-to-Head Record: First meeting
Fruhvirtova won the lucky loser face off against Tara Moore in the opening round here, which was an impressive victory for the 16-year-old. However, one would still expect to see Linette have too much quality and experience in this particular encounter.
Prediction: Linette in 2
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Polona Hercog
Head-to-Head Record: Begu 3-0 Hercog
This is one of those head-to-head records that actually means very little because the last encounter between these experienced players was in 2015. However, I still do prefer the Romanian for this match-up. The reason is that despite Hercog’s excellent 72% service hold record on hard courts over the last couple of years, the Slovenian has massively struggled on return. Begu’s better all-around game on the surface should guide her to a hard-fought win.
Prediction: Begu in 3
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Nadia Podoroska
Head-to-Head Record: First Meeting
This is a difficult match to predict. Podoroska is the fifth seed in this tournament but is still very highly ranked owing to a magnificent run on the clay before and during Roland Garros in 2020. As a result, her seeding is always questioned but the Argentine hasn’t been awful on the hard courts and will be able to match Sasnovich in this match. Neither player is in particularly great form and both produced workmanlike performances to see off American players in round one. I slightly favour Podoroska to get the win because of the threat she will pose on the Belarussian’s serve throughout the contest.
Prediction: Podoroska in 3
Caty McNally vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-Head Record: First Meeting
Where it was tough to pick a winner in a couple of the matches, I haven’t found this one tough at all. It has felt for a while that Kasatkina is on the verge of producing some excellent tennis this year. With the openness of this tournament, the Russian must be looking at this as a great chance to get a tournament win and some confidence before the US Open. McNally is still finding her feet at this level and while there are signs that she is improving this may be a step too far for her. Kasatkina has great timing and all the shots in the book and if she is able to produce enough of those then she should come through here.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
