The final lead-up to the second Slam of the year is here! The decision to play the week before a major is always a double-edged sword, possibly building momentum though at the cost of entering the slam rested. This field of WTA players that decided to take the risk in Strasbourg has some quality in it, providing us with some fun match-ups in the first round. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Who do you think will win?
WTA Strasbourg Day 2 Predictions
Shuai Zhang vs Maryna Zanevska
Head-to-head: Zhang 1-0 Zanevska
Zhang won her second WTA title earlier this year in Lyon but as in most years, her clay results in 2022 are nothing to write home about. The 33-year-old is 1-3 on red clay this year, beating only Martina Trevisan. Her record in Strasbourg is surprisingly decent though, reaching the quarterfinals once and twice winning a round in six appearances. Zanevska has much better clay results, going 24-7 on the surface last year and winning her first WTA title in Gdynia. She did have to retire from her last match in Saint-Malo less than ten days ago, causing some question marks around the Ukrainian’s fitness. Zanevska’s fitness is what this match-up really hinges on so I’m going to hope she is back to her best and predict her to win.
Predictions: Zanevska in 3
Viktorija Golubic vs Yana Morderger
Head-to-head: first meeting
Though Golubic won her first WTA title on clay at Gstaad 2016, she often struggles on the surface against main tour opposition. The Swiss enters Strasbourg 0-3 on clay, losing twice to Victoria Azarenka and once to No. 251 Eva Lys. Moderger enters as a lucky loser, beating Indy De Vroome in the first qualifying before her loss to Ekaterina Makarova. Moderger is 25 and never found herself in the Top 350 so Golubic should be winning this easily, try to get herself some confidence with wins before Roland Garros.
Predictions: Golubic in 2
Elise Mertens vs Carole Monnet
Head-to-head: first meeting
Mertens is coming back from injury that forced her to retire from her match against Rebecca Peterson in Istanbul and kept her out of competition for almost a month. It has not been a great year for the Belgian, going 9-8 and suffering early-round losses to Linda Fruhvirtova and Daria Saville at the Sunshine swing. This match should be a good way for Mertens to shake off some rust as Monnet should not really provide a threat. At this point, the 20-year-old is an ITF-level player at this point and is not having a great season with a 15-15 record.
Predictions: Mertens in 2
Karolina Pliskova vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-head: first meeting
It’s been a difficult road back from injury for Pliskova, who is currently a Top 10 player in name only. The 30-year-old has won only two of her eight matches this year, currently on a three-match winless streak after losses to Ludmila Samsonova, Marie Bouzkova and Jil Teichmann. Kostyuk has a 13-9 record in 2022, usually succeeding in qualifying but failing to put together a longer run in the main draw. The clay season has been average for Kostyuk, going 3-2 with her best win against Clara Tauson and worst loss to Madison Brengle. This is a tough one to call but I will lean on Kostyuk’s side here, I expect her to pump herself up for the opportunity to score an upset over a Top 10 player.
Predictions: Kostyuk in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
