We have reached the quarterfinal stage at the WTA Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, and there will be no shortage of entertainment or drama. There is a popcorn match that features two teenage stars. And the other could have major implications in the WTA Race. As always at LWOT, we have predictions of all Friday matches covered in this article. Who will advance?
WTA Transylvania Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Rebecca Peterson vs Lesia Tsurenko
Head-to-head: Peterson 2-0 Tsurenko
Both these players have taken different itineraries to get to this stage, but both have looked efficient along the way. Tsurenko scaled the qualifying rounds without dropping a set. And she repeated the trick in her two main draw matches to reach her first quarterfinal of the season.
Peterson, meanwhile, extended her winning streak to seven matches having captured the Rancho Santa Fe ITF tournament a couple of weeks ago. The biggest hindrance in Tsurenko’s bid to re-enter the Top 100 is her fitness. She has had three retirements this year most notably at Wimbledon (where she came through qualifying to reach the main draw, only to pull out) and in Cluj-Napoca on the clay courts. Tsurenko might match Peterson’s point-by-point intensity with her solid and sweet backhand. But if this goes the distance, there is only one winner.
Prediction: Peterson in 3
Simona Halep vs Jaqueline Cristian
Head-to-head: first meeting
Simona Halep made a real statement of intent in her opening match as she knocked off compatriot Elena Gabriela Ruse 6-1 6-2. She followed it up with another routine straight-sets win over Varvara Gracheva, dropping just six games. Talk of Halep’s decline has been a little premature. She hasn’t actually played anything remotely close to a full schedule this year due to injuries and off-court commitments. A calf injury picked up at the Italian Open forced her to miss Roland Garros and she took a month off to tend to her wedding.
The top seed faces another Romanian newcomer who has been in decent form in 2021. Jaqueline Cristian notched her second Top 50 win of the season after defeating Ajla Tomljanovic. But can she keep it up for one more round? Highly unlikely. Halep is super motivated to preserve her title streak. Since 2013 she has managed to win at least one WTA title – the longest such streak among active players on the WTA tour.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Anett Kontaveit vs Anhelina Kalinina
Head-to-head: first meeting
Anett Kontaveit is in pole position to qualify for the WTA Finals. It’s on the Estonian’s racket right now and the permutation is simple: win the title in Cluj-Napoca and she will unseat Ons Jabeur in the Race to Guadalajara. The Tunisian can only pray and hope.
Kontaveit will play Anhelina Kalinina in the last eight. The Ukrainian World No. 59 is a tough cookie, but there is no denying she has had a generous draw until this point. She will feel a complete change of pace against the Estonian. And Kontaveit’s bone-crushing backhand is a shot that is sending shivers down the spines of her opponents. It would be a major upset if she falls here now that the finish line is in sight.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 2
Emma Raducanu vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-head: first meeting
Reigning US Open Emma Raducanu made it two wins on the trot after seeing off Ana Bogdan 6-3 6-4 on Thursday. After a confidence-shattering defeat to Sasnovich in Indian Wells, the British No. 1 is slowly finding her feet in her father’s homeland. Her next test will come in the form of World No. 55 and fellow teenager Marta Kostyuk.
Kostyuk produced her very own Grand Slam fairytale at the 2018 Australian Open. The Ukrainian, who was 15 at the time, became the youngest qualifier to reach the third round of a Major in 22 years. But she wasn’t able to keep her foot on the accelerator for too long. Her progress has been rather slow and tedious. Now that she is inching closer to reaching the world’s Top 50, she is certainly a player to keep an eye on for the forthcoming season.
In fairness, Kostyuk has performed admirably across all surfaces this year. She has made two WTA semifinals (one on hard courts, the other on clay), and also shocked Garbine Muguruza in the first round of the French Open. Her power-packed game could keep the Brit on her toes and out of her comfort zone. However, the 18-year-old Raducanu is such a hyper-competent athlete that defies her tender age. Expect the third seed to squeak her way into the last four.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
