The action continues in Ohio with the second lot of Round of 16 matches taking place on Wednesday. Seeds have performed well in the tournament so far and there are some big names still in the mix for the trophy. Among them are powerhouse Estonian Anett Kontaveit and the brilliant if inconsistent Caroline Garcia. We take a look at how they and others should fare out on the court in our WTA Cleveland day 4 predictions.
WTA Cleveland Day 4 Predictions
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Vera Zvonareva
Head-to-head: First meeting
This should be a straightforward win for Sorribes Tormo. The Spaniard has been one of the better players on the WTA tour this year. She is enjoying a breakout year on all surfaces and has become one of the best defenders in women’s tennis. Zvonareva on the other hand is in the twilight of what was a successful career. AT 26 years of age, the Russian’s best tennis is behind her and she hasn’t lifted a trophy since 2011. If she serves well she could keep this tight. However, I don’t see her doing any real damage here.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 2
Nagi Hatani vs Katerina Siniakova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Hatani went from lucky loser to incredibly lucky loser when Anna Blinkova withdrew from their first round match due to injury. The World #402 know finds herself with a glorious opportunity to make the quarterfinal of a WTA tournament. However, that is a tall ask given the level of opponent she now faces. Siniakova has been consistently ranked inside the top 100 in the women’s game for quite some time now. She is solid at everything without having any exceptional weapons, but that is often enough to get the job done against lower ranked opponents. The Czech is the clear favourite here and it is hard to see an upset occurring.
Prediction: Siniakova in 2
Bethanie Mattek-Sands vs Shuai Zhang
Head-to-head: 1-1
Mattek-Sands is one of the more recognisable faces in women’s tennis. She regularly takes over the WTA’s social media platforms and her bubbly personality and outlandish sense of style make her hard to miss. Her tennis isn’t quite as flashy as it once was, but she is still capable of moments of brilliance. Her opponent Zhang is as well, although the Chinese star has struggled in 2021 after playing very little tennis last year due to travel restrictions imposed in China. Nonetheless, she is the better singles player of the two here and has a higher level to go to. This could go the distance, but I expect Zhang to pull through in the end.
Prediction: Zhang in 3
Anett Kontaveit vs Caroline Garcia
Head-to-head: 2-2
This match will either be brilliant tennis to watch or completely unbearable. That is the nature of matches involving two brilliant but infuriatingly inconsistent stars of the women’s game. Both Garcia and Kontaveit have the level to beat the best of the best on any given day. However, they are both equally capable of having a complete meltdown and losing to opponents they have no business losing to. When on song they both hit winners galore off both wings and are a joy to behold. If we see that level on Wednesday we should be in for a treat. Kontaveit has had more to her game in recent months and will be more confident than Garcia as she has had a better year so far. That, coupled with the fact she is a better hard court player than the French woman, should mean she edges out what should be a close battle in Cleveland.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
