The WTA Stuttgart Open boats an incredibly strong field and the draw for the round of 16 is a reflection of that. A number of the world’s best are in action on day four and there should be plenty of entertainment for the fans in Germany and abroad. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Bianca Andreescu vs Aryna Sabalenka. But who will join world #1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals?
WTA Stuttgart Day 4 Predictions
Elena Rybakina vs Paula Badosa
Head-to-head: Badosa 2-1 Rybakina
Elena Rybakina opened her WTA Stuttgart Open campaign with a hard-fought 7-6 7-5 win over Nikola Schunk. One suspects that she will need to improve if she is to get the better of Paula Badosa. The Spaniard was a quarterfinalist at Roland Garros last season and should have re-adjusted to clay-court conditions after her run to the last eight in Charleston a fortnight ago. Rybakina did win their only previous clay-court meeting three years ago in Bucharest, but it was a narrow victory for the Kazakh and Badosa has improved in the interim. Expect her to demonstrate by how much here.
Prediction: Badosa in 3
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Ons Jabeur vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: Jabeur 2-2 Kasatkina
This is another heavyweight clash for the second round at a WTA 500 event. Ons Jabeur started her week in Stuttgart with a narrow three-set win over former-French Open finalist. She is set to face another stern task in the second round against Daria Kasatkina. The Russian scored a fine 6-4 6-2 win over American young gun Cori Gauff in the first round and has the quality to test Jabeur as well. But the Tunisian has a game well-suited to the clay. Expect her combination of variety and power to give her the edge against Kasatkina.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
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Maria Sakkari vs Laura Siegemund
Head-to-head: first meeting
Maria Sakkari has been in excellent form of late, barring a disappointing second-round loss in Miami. She reached the final in St Petersburg and Indian Wells, as well as the last four in Qatar. Though she will doubtless be disappointed not to have added to her haul of trophies yet this season, it has been an impressive start to 2022. The Greek still needs to prove that she can beat the very best in the game on a regular basis, but this looks like a winnable match. Laura Siegemund played some good tennis in the first round to beat Tamara Zidansek 6-3 6-3, but getting the better of Sakkari is another matter entirely.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
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Tamara Korpatsch vs Emma Raducanu
Head-to-head: first meeting
Adjusting to life as a Grand Slam champion clearly has not been easy for Emma Raducanu. The Briton shot to stardom last summer, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon before winning the US Open as a qualifier but, perhaps unsurprisingly, she has struggled for consistency since, with injury problems not helping her cause. But she made an excellent start to the European clay-court swing by dismantling Storm Sanders for the loss of only three games and, if she can maintain that level, she should have enough to get past Tamara Korpatsch comfortably enough.
Prediction: Raducanu in 2
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