It’s quarterfinal day at the WTA Tenerife Open. There have been plenty of marathon matches this week, a couple more could be on the way. Camila Giorgi is the only seeded player left in the draw and headlines the action on Friday at the inaugural event on the Canary Islands. The Italian is back on the winners list for the first time since her Rogers Cup triumph a few months ago. Can the Italian survive a potentially tricky quarterfinal showdown with Arantxa Rus?
WTA Tenerife Quarterfinal Predictions
Alize Cornet vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Head-to-head: Schmiedlova 2-1 Cornet
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova will be competing in her fourth tour-`level quarterfinal of the season. The Slovakian has lost all three quarterfinals in 2021 but is showing signs that this could be her week. Schmiedlova started the event with a 4-6 6-1 6-4 victory over Kaja Juvan before beating Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5. Schmiedlova has a positive record against Cornet, their most recent clash was way back in 2015 where Schmiedlova won 6-2 6-0 on an indoor hard court in Katowice. Cornet will be playing to reach her third semifinal of the season.
The Frenchwoman started the event with a 6-1 6-2 win over Stefanie Voegele before benefiting from the retirement of Xinyu Wang as she led her Chinese opponent 6-1 6-7 4-1. There’s little to separate these two in terms of ability. Cornet is more experienced and has a tricky playing style. Schmiedlova probably has a stronger game, more power to shots. Expect a match filled with long rallies as both move very well. I’ll give the slight edge to Schmiedlova to pull through.
Prediction: Schmiedlova in 3
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Irina-Camelia Begu vs Ann Li
Head-to-head: first meeting
Irina-Camelia Begu only just survived her second round clash with Donna Vekic, prevailing 4-6 6-2 7-6 in an interrupted match spanning over two days. Ann Li was far less troubled in her second round victory, a 6-4 6-2 win over Varvara Gracheva. This looks like another close matchup in the first career meeting between the pair. Experience is with Begu, slightly greater ability is probably with the rising Li. The hard court surface also probably helps Li in this matchup. I’ll side with the American here.
Prediction: Li in 3
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Camila Osorio vs Zheng Saisai
Head-to-head: first meeting
Camila Osorio pulled off one of the upsets of the season in the opening round this week. A 5-7 6-3 6-2 win over the top seeded Elina Svitolina came out of nowhere, the biggest win of her young career. The Colombian backed up her win over Svitolina very nicely with a 6-4 6-2 victory against Mayar Sherif. Zheng Saisai, meanwhile, sprung an upset of her own in the second round where she outlasted the seventh seeded Clara Tauson 7-6 2-6 6-4 in a match lasting just under 3 hours.
Both players entered this week with sketchy form, now each have a good opportunity to reach a rare semifinal at this level. Another tight matchup. Zheng is more experienced, versatile and consistent. Osorio Serrano’s best tennis could be too much for the Chinese player to handle. I’ll side with the greater reliability of Zheng.
Prediction: Zheng in 3
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Camila Giorgi vs Arantxa Rus
Head-to-head: first meeting
Camila Giorgi arrived in Tenerife on the back of four opening round exits ever since her Rogers Cup triumph. Giorgi came close to another loss in the first round this week but pulled through to defeat Aliona Bolsova 7-6 3-6 6-4. Giorgi was far less troubled in her second round matchup where she thrashed Danka Kovinic 6-1 6-2. Arantxa Rus looks like a tricky opponent for Giorgi, Rus has cruised through the draw with straight set wins over the fifth seeded Viktorija Golubic (6-3 6-4) and Greet Minnen (6-1 6-2). Giorgi has the greater ability and has seemingly rediscovered some form and confidence this week, expect her to come out on top after a stern challenge.
Prediction: Giorgi in 3
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