Second round action continues on Day 4 of the WTA Abierto GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico. The top seeded Elina Svitolina headlines the action on Thursday. It’s an emotional time for the Ukrainian given the tragic situation in her homeland. On court, Svitolina made a strong start in Monterrey and will look to keep building momentum during her second round clash with Bulgarian qualifier Viktoriya Tomova. Three other spots in the quarterfinals will be up for grabs on day 4, who will take them?
WTA Monterrey Day 4 Predictions
Nuria Parrizas-Diaz vs Heather Watson
H2H: First meeting.
A matchup between Nuria Parrizas-Diaz and Heather Watson presents as a winnable matchup for both players. The pair had contrasting pathways through the opening round in Monterrey. The fifth seeded Parrizas-Diaz cruised past Misaki Doi 6-2 6-1, whilst Watson battled past German qualifier Jule Niemeier 6-3 2-6 7-6.
Watson is a former champion in Monterrey and has historically played some of her best tennis on the hard courts in Mexico having also won a title in Acapulco. Parrizas-Diaz is solid but nothing special. The Spaniard is very beatable in these conditions. Whilst Watson hasn’t been at her best of late, a hard-fought opening round win coupled with her past success in this part of the world suggests she has a good chance in this matchup.
Prediction: Watson in 3
Qiang Wang vs Mayar Sherif
H2H: First meeting.
Qiang Wang arrived in Monterrey in some decent form having reached the semifinals in Guadalajara last week. However, The Chinese player wasn’t too impressive in her Monterrey opener, but still managed to get the job done as she defeated Dalma Galfi 6-7 6-1 6-4.
Wang should be able to make it back-to-back quarterfinals with a comfortable win over Mayar Sherif. The Egyptian was lucky to get through the opening round, only just defeating Seone Mendez 6-1 6-7 6-4. Sherif took a questionable medical timeout late in her win over the Aussie which seemingly threw off her opponent. Wang does everything better in these conditions, Sherif’s loopy shots will sit nicely for Wang to attack and dominate. Wang should win easily.
Prediction: Q. Wang in 2
Petra Martic vs Marie Bouzkova
H2H: First meeting.
Petra Martic’s 5-7 7-6 6-3 opening round win over the third seeded Madison Keys was the Croatian’s biggest win in a while, her first win over a top 50 opponent since Rome last year. Martic has not won back-to-back matches in almost 10 months, the last time she managed to win back-to-back matches was in May last year when she reached the quarterfinals in Parma. This could turn into a significant week for Martic.
Marie Bouzkova is having a good time in Mexico. The Czech was the runner-up in Guadalajara last week where she succumbed to Sloane Stephens in a close three set final. The 23-year-old understandably made a slow start in Monterrey off a short turnaround as she came from a set down to defeat Sara Errani 4-6 6-2 6-4.
Bouzkova is likely to be too solid for Martic. Whilst Martic was able to beat Keys, that was mostly because of the errors Keys committed. Martic’s versatility troubled Keys into errors. Martic won’t benefit from as many gifts in this matchup, she will need to earn the victory the hard way. There’s little to suggest Martic will have much success in this type of matchup. Bouzkova is in a good rhythm at the moment and should be able to exploit the fragilities in the Martic game.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Elina Svitolina vs Viktoriya Tomova
H2H: First meeting.
Elina Svitolina produced a highly impressive opening round performance as she thrashed Anastasia Potapova 6-2 6-1 in little over an hour. There’s no doubt that these are agonising times for Svitolina given what’s going on in Ukraine, for now that doesn’t seem to be negatively impacting her tennis. If anything, she seemed as focused and determined as ever on court and will be donating all of her prize money from this week to the Ukrainian military.
Viktorija Tomova is having a nice week in Monterrey. The Bulgarian made her way through the qualifying draw with wins over Yue Yuan 7-6 6-2 and Fernanda Contreras Gomez 6-1 6-4. The Bulgarian’s run straight set wins continued in the main draw when she cruised past Diane Parry 6-4 6-0. Tomova will need to raise her level to an even higher if she is to proceed any further in Monterrey.
Svitolina played one of her better matches of the season in her Monterrey opener. The Uranian has never lost in Monterrey having won the tournament in 2020 in her only previous visit to the tournament. The conditions suit Svitolina’s game perfectly and she is likely to be far, far too solid for Tomova to book her spot in the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
