Wednesday sees the rest of the main draw in the WTA Melbourne Summer Set 2 take to the court. Top seed Jessica Pegula has already been eliminated and this tournament appears to be anyone’s for the taking. Daria Kasatkina had a great time in Melbourne in 2021 and will be hoping for more of the same this year. However, the likes of Madison Keys might have something to say about that. Who comes out on top in Wednesday’s action? We try and establish exactly that in our WTA Melbourne Summer Set 2 day 2 predictions.
WTA Melbourne Summer Set 2 Day 2 Predictions
Nuria Parrizas Diaz vs Ellen Perez
Head-to-head: First meeting
Nuria Parrizas Diaz was one of the surprise stories of 2021. The Spaniard finished the year ranked #66 in the world despite never being inside the top 200 at the end of any previous year. She got there by virtue of seven ITF and Challenger series titles in 2021. Nonetheless, she didn’t look massively out of place in the matches she did play on the WTA tour and I wouldn’t be surprised if she manages to hang on to her ranking this year. She has a great chance to start doing exactly that here against Ellen Perez. The Aussie only just crept inside the top 200 in the world at the end of last year and has never been inside the top 150 in the world. Parrizas Diaz is proof that it’s never to late to have a breakout season. However, I can’t see Perez causing an upset here given her form last season. Expect the Spaniard to advance here.
Prediction: Parrizas Diaz in 3
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Greet Minnen vs Kamilla Rakhimova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Greet Minnen finally broke into the top 100 last year on the back of some lucky breaks in Grand Slams and some great play on hard courts. The Belgian has certainly shown flashes of the game necessary to compete on the main tour in the past. The question is, can she do so more consistently now and hold on to her spot among the best in the world. She faces a tough first examination of her ability to do that here in the form of Camille Rakhimova. The Russian was trending the right way last year and continued that form with two convincing wins in qualifying to book her place in the main draw here. She has an aggressive game and won’t be afraid to go for it here as these opportunities must be taken if she wants to continue her climb up the rankings. Two matches on this surface and a hunger to break through onto the main tour should be enough to see Rakhimova advance in three sets here.
Prediction: Rakhimova in 3
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Rebecca Peterson vs Astra Sharma
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Peterson
Rebecca Peterson was poor for much of 2021. However, a late revival towards the end of the year saw her manage to hang on to a spot inside the top 100. Crucially, that gets her into the main draw in most smaller tournaments and the Grand Slams which gives her a chance to quickly right ship. The Swede is a talented player and proved so with two titles in 2019. She is surely keen to return to that level, but won’t find an easy win here as she faces home favourite Astra Sharma. Sharma enjoyed a breakthrough year last year, Winning her first WTA title on the clay in Charleston. However, she still only managed to finish the year just inside the top 100. She didn’t do much outside of that dream run and lost comfortably to Peterson on hard courts last year. Peterson is the better player and should win comfortably again on these courts.
Prediction: Peterson in 2
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Daria Kasatkina vs Anna Kalinskaya
Head-to-head: 2 – 0 Kasatkina
Kasatkina won her first title since 2018 last year in the Phillips Island Trophy tournament held on these courts. That win kickstarted something of a career resurgence for the Russian. She won a second title in St Petersburg and climbed back inside the top 30 in the women’s game. By contrast, Anna Kalinskaya continues to hover just outside the top 100. She’s been there since the end of 2019 without ever producing enough to see her break through onto the main tour. The game is there in flashes, but never on a consistent basis or at the right times in big tournaments. Kasatkina is probably the favourite to win this tournament now Pegula is out. She should start her charge to the title with a relatively easy win here.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 2
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