Tuesday is a busy day at the inaugural WTA Tenerife Ladies Open with a heap of first round matches to be completed. An interesting clash between seventh seed Clara Tauson and Heather Watson is one of the highlights of the day. The experienced Watson will be out to avoid a sixth consecutive loss but will have her work cut out against the recently crowned Luxembourg champion. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between two other articles. One features Aliona Bolsova vs Camila Giorgi, and the other features Elina Svitolina vs Maria Camila Osorio Serrano.
WTA Tenerife Day 2 Predictions
Lucrezia Stefanini vs Mayar Sherif
H2H: First meeting
Mayar Sherif arrives in Tenerife with a career-high ranking of #64 to her name. The vast majority of Sherif’s success has been on clay, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the WTA 250 event in Cluj-Napoca and winning the 125K Karlsruhe title. Her opponent also sits at a career high ranking, Lucrezia Stefanini is up to #188 in the world thanks to the 40 victories she has recorded this year. All of Stefanini’s success has come at the ITF level, also mostly on clay. This is a big opportunity for both players. Sherif seemingly has the edge given her greater tour level experience and greater exposure to hard court tennis.
Prediction: Sherif in 3
Saisai Zheng vs Rebeka Masarova
H2H: First meeting
Rebeka Masarova has rocketed up the rankings in 2021. The Spanish wild card has a 42/12 win/loss record to her name in 2021, including three ITF titles. The 22-year-old has had limited exposure to the main tour but that will come with time. Masarova has a chance to record a rare win at this level against a struggling Saisai Zheng. The Chinese player has a poor 14/16 win/loss record in 2021, one of her worst seasons in a while. Zheng recently lost to Maria Kozyreva, a opponent that was ranked outside the top 1000 at the time. The talented Masarova seemingly has a good chance here.
Prediction: Masarova in 3
Greet Minnen vs Mandy Minella
H2H: First meeting
Mandy Minella moved into the main draw thanks to wins over Ankita Raina (6-3 6-2) and Dalma Galfi (7-6 5-7 6-3). The 35-year-old will probably be outclassed her main draw opener against Greet Minnen. The Belgian currently sits at a career high ranking of #69 thanks to her recent run to the third round of the US Open via the qualifying draw. The pair have somewhat similar playing styles, Minnen is simply playing much better at the moment and should therefore come through this match quite comfortably.
Prediction: Minnen in 2
Clara Tauson vs Heather Watson
H2H: First meeting
Heather Watson has lost ten of her last 15 matches, including five consecutive losses heading into Tenerife. Meanwhile, Clara Tauson has won 11 of her last 12 matches, the seventh seeded Dane is having the best season of her career as she continues to rise up the rankings. Tauson will be in action for the first time since capturing her second WTA singles title in Luxembourg last month. Clearly Tauson is in far better form, but Watson is definitely capable in this matchup if she plays her best tennis. It’s hard to ignore the extreme contrast in form, have to side with Tauson.
Prediction: Tauson in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
