First-round action continues on day two at the WTA Chicago Classic. Tuesday’s early matches have a distinct American flavour to them with a number of homegrown stars looking to give the home fans something to cheer about in the Windy City on day where 28 players will take to the court. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule. But who will advance?
WTA Chicago Day 2 Predictions
Jil Teichmann vs Kaia Kanepi
Head-to-head: Kanepi 1-0 Teichmann
Jil Teichmann arrives in Chicago with a career high ranking of #38 in the world to her name having reached the quarterfinals in Ostrava last week. The Swiss player has been in fantastic form ever since reaching the biggest final of her career in Cincinnati last month. The 24-year-old will need to be on guard if she to make a successful start to her Chicago campaign, the dangerous Kaia Kanepi awaits. Kanepi has been typically inconsistent in 2021 but always remains a threat because of her tremendous firepower.
Kanepi has form on her side, albeit at a lower level having won the ITF 25K event in Fort Worth last week. Kanepi won the only previous meeting between the pair, 6-4 6-3 at the US Open in 2018, much has changed since then so expect a different result on this occasion. Teichmann is proving to be a tricky customer for all of her opponents at the moment thanks to her effective blend of consistency, aggression and versatility. Expect this combination to be too much for Kanepi to handle on this occasion. Kanepi hasn’t proven herself often enough against this level of opponent over the last few months to think that she’s going to be good enough to blast Teichmann off the court.
Prediction: Teichmann in 2
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Magda Linette vs CoCo Vandeweghe
Head-to-head: first meeting
CoCo Vandeweghe hasn’t won a tour-level match draw on a hard court in 2021 and that seems unlikely to change in Chicago when she faces Magda Linette. Vandeweghe did show some signs of life last week with a semi-final appearance at the 125K event in Columbus. Meanwhile, Linette is having a good but unspectacular season. The Pole arrives in Chicago from Ostrava where she successfully cleared the qualifying stage before succumbing in the second round of the main draw to Elena Rybakina in 3 sets.
Linette seems likely to come out on top in this match-up more often than not. Linette’s solid, consistent style is likely to be too much for an error prone Vandeweghe to handle from the back of the court. Vandeweghe hasn’t proven herself capable against this level of opposition in recent times, there seems to be no real reason for that to change here given Linette’s solid recent form.
Prediction: Linette in 2
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Tamara Zidansek vs Sloane Stephens
Head-to-head: Zidansek 1-0 Stephens
Sloane Stephens has been showing some better signs of late. The American reached at least the third round stage of the last three Grand Slams, including this month’s US Open where she claimed a couple of notable victories over Madison and Cori Gauff before succumbing to Angelique Kerber in an epic. Conversely, Tamara Zidansek hasn’t fared too well since transitioning off the clay courts and looks vulnerable heading into this match-up.
Zidansek defeated Stephens in their only previous meeting, a 6-4 7-5 victory for the Slovenian on clay in Rome earlier this year. Their first meeting on a hard court is likely to have a different ending. Stephens is far more effective on the hard courts, especially at home in the USA where she usually plays her best tennis. Expect a rejuvenated Stephens to be too strong here.
Prediction: Stephens in 2
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Amanda Anisimova vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Amanda Anisimova will return to action for the first time since her epic second-round loss to Karolina Pliskova at the US Open earlier this month. It wasn’t the result Anisimova wanted but she at least showed the level of tennis that saw her reach a career high ranking of #21. The 20-year-old will face a tricky opening-round opponent in Chicago when she takes on Viktorija Golubic. Golubic is having a career-best season on tour, highlighted by a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon.
However, the North American hard courts haven’t been a happy hunting ground for Golubic, managing just one victory in her last four tournaments. Anisimova is considered the more talented of the pair and has the superior firepower. However, Golubic is generally the more consistent of the two and has the type of awkward style that is likely to frustrate Anisimova into hitting too many errors. Ultimately, it’s hard to trust in Anisimova the moment, so expect Golubic to advance.
Prediction: Golubic in 3
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