The deep field in Ostrava has performed admirably, with several top seeds making it to the quarterfinals. Among them are two women I picked as players to watch this year in Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek. While their encounter is probably the pick of the day’s matches, several other big names are in action as well. Friday really is a day a mouth-watering tennis in the Czech Republic. As ever, we take a look at who should move on to the next round in our WTA Ostrava quarterfinal predictions.
WTA Ostrava Quarterfinal Predictions
Maria Sakkari vs Tereza Martincova
Head-to-head:
After Sakkari dismantled Ostapenko in her last match I find it very hard to give Martincova much of a chance here. The Greek has been a standout performer on the tour this year. She has to Grand Slam semifinals to her name and has made winning matches like this a regular occurrence. She isn’t getting over the line and winning tournaments as much as she would like yet. However, she continues to improve and will surely feel she should be moving on here. Martincova has a big game but it is very streaky and she will struggle against someone with the court coverage and defensive chops of Sakkari. Expect the Athenian to advance here.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Petra Kvitova vs Jil Teichmann
Head-to-head:
This should be an epic battle of the lefties in Ostrava. Kvitova has had a poor year by her standards and needs a run of wins here. By contrast, Teichmann has had a breakout year and looks ready to get stuck in and charge into the top 20 in the women’s game. The Swiss has proved her game can be adapted to hard courts and has had some great results on the surface in the last 18 months. However, Kvitova in her home country is hard to pick against, particularly on fast hard courts. The Czech is near impossible to stop when she is in the mood and fired up. Playing at home should give her that energy and allow her to move on here.
Prediction: Kvitova in 3
Belinda Bencic vs Anett Kontaveit
Head-to-head:
This will be an absolute epic if both of these players are on form. Both Bencic and Kontaveit love taking it to their opponents and playing strike first tennis. When they’re on that means winners galore, incredible points and must-see tennis all round. Bencic is in a purple patch ever since lifting gold at the Tokyo Olympics and because of that I’ll give her the edge here. She appears to have put the US Open disappointment behind her pretty quickly and should have to much for the talented but inconsistent Kontaveit in this one. She’ll need to serve well, but should advance if she does.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina
Head-to-head:
Two of the most promising young talents in the women’s game headline Friday’s action in Ostrava on Friday. Swiatek continues to find her footing on hard courts but looks more comfortable on the surface with every match she plays. The fast courts of Ostrava will reward Rybakina’s huge serve and groundstrokes, but the Pole’s defense and court craft will negate that to a large degree. If Swiatek can serve well and keep her forehand firing all match then she should move on here. however, this is very close to a 50/50 toss up between the two and could very easily swing Rybakina’s way.
Prediction: Swiatek in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
