The statuesque courts of Rome are the venue for this week’s edition of the European clay-court swing. The ruthless nature of this section of the season is a real test but some of the big names are still desperate for high-quality on-court action. Sadly some will be going home after just one match. Who will progress on Day 1 of the WTA 1000 event in Rome? LWOT has all of the previews and predictions on the opening day.
WTA Rome Day 1 Predictions
Kaja Juvan vs Yulia Putintseva
Head-to-head: Putintseva 1-0
Both ladies here have a 7-3 winning record in their last seven matches so both should feel in decent touch, but the standard of those 10 matches is very different. Putintseva has had a good run to the semifinals in Istanbul within that time whereas Juvan includes some easier Billie Jean King rubbers in her number.
Both have qualified with excellent three set wins in their final round of qualification but Putintseva did defeat Juvan around this time last year on the clay. The Kazakh has more experience and whilst I believe that Juvan has the higher ceiling, Putintseva may just still have that quality edge at the moment to win this one.
Prediction: Putintseva in 3
Belinda Bencic vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Head-to-head: First meeting
Cocciaretto is very much deserving of this wild card and I expect her to put up a good showing. Her last tournament was an ITF tournament in Oeiras, Portugal. The Italian went all the way from qualifying to win the title, she was also a finalist on the clay of Antalya the month before as well. As a result her ranking is back up to the mid-100s.
Of course, this is still miles off the standard required to beat Bencic. The Swiss is highly competent on the clay, having posted a 75% win ratio on the surface in the last twelve months. In the end it looks to be too big a class difference to jump for the Italian and I expect Bencic to run out the winner here
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Viktorija Golubic vs Victoria Azarenka
Head-to-head: Azarenka 1-0
Both ladies could really do with a deep run in a tournament to pick up their confidence and ranking points. Neither have made a quarterfinal since just before the Australian Open, albeit Azarenka still has an excellent record in the opening round of tournaments having won thirteen of her last fourteen openers. I expect her to make it 14/15 with a good success over Golubic, much in a similar manner to when she beat the Swiss in straight sets in Madrid two weeks ago.
Prediction: Azarenka in 2
Alize Cornet vs Simona Halep
Head-to-head: Cornet 4-1
The return of one of the more unusual head-to-head records out there as Cornet takes her 4-1 lead into this opening round. However, their only clay meeting was back in 2015 and much has changed since then. Indeed, it feels as though much has changed since Cornet surprised Halep by winning their last 16 match in Australia this year.
That run to the quarterfinals in Melbourne seemed to tick a big box for the Frenchwoman and her form since then has been poor. Her motivation may have droppedoff a little bit but surely Halep’s will be huge for this match in particular. The Romanian seems in determined mood and I think she will really want this one. She’s good enough to dominate in this tournament that she won in 2020.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
