Rain washed out most of the first day at the WTA Den Bosch Open, but the weather should be more co-operative on what promises to be an action-packed day two. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Veronika Kudermetova vs Leolia Jeanjean and Madison Brengle vs Belinda Bencic. But who will advance?
WTA Den Bosch Day 2 Predictions
Anna Blinkova vs Greet Minnen
Head-to-head: Minnen 1-0 Blinkova
Anna Blinkova looked to be firmly among the crop of young stars breaking onto the WTA in 2019/2020. However, the Russian has faltered in the two years since and now finds herself outside the top 100. She has been plagued by injuries and inconsistency but is still a great player when on song. Her opponent, Greet Minnen, is a solid if unspectacular player who has recently dropped back down to the ITF circuit in an effort to pick up some much needed wins. both players have done well recently below tour level, but it is Blinkova who has the game to be a mainstay on the WTA Tour and I think she will show as much here.
Prediction: Blinkova in 3
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Storm Sanders vs Elise Mertens
Head-to-head: Sanders 1-1 Mertens
Elise Mertens was having a pretty poor 2022 by her standards until she made the fourth round of the French Open. The Belgian matched that result in Australia to start the year but hasn’t made it past the quarterfinal stage in any tournament this year. She will be keen to right that wrong with a good performance here, but faces a tricky test in Storm Sanders. The Aussie beat Mertens in three sets at the Billie Jean King Cup and will like her chances of an upset here. Grass can be a tricky surface to adjust to and Sanders already has two matches on the surface courtesy of qualifying for this tournament. Mertens at the peak of her powers is a heavy favourite in most matches she plays. However, she isn’t at that level here and she looks there for the taking in this matchup.
Prediction: Sanders in 3
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Kirsten Flipkens vs Anastasia Tikhonova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kirsten Flipkens was once a dangerous and tricky player to handle on grass courts. Her impeccable slicing and net play are well suited to the surface. However, she has been in a steady decline for some time now and it looks as if 2022 will be her swan song as far as singles are concerned. She will get no sympathy from Anastasia Tikhonova though. The young Russian has played good tennis in recent weeks and looks like she has the game to make a run at a spot in the top 100. She has only played three matches on grass though and her inexperience may well be exposed by Flipkens here. This one should go the distance and could honestly go either way but I think Tikhonova will hit her way in to the second round when the dust settles here.
Prediction: Tikhonova in 3
Elena Rybakina vs Jamie Loeb
Head-to-head: first meeting
Grass tends to award big serving and flat, aggressive ball striking. Few on the tour do those two things as well as Elena Rybakina does. The Kazakh has played great tennis so far this year and will be keen to add a WTA title to her collection so she has something to show for it. She was great on grass last year and in 2019 and is a serious contender for this trophy and a dark horse for the Wimbledon exhibition later in the month. Jamie Loeb has never been inside the top 100 in the women’s game and only rarely appears on the tour if she can get through qualifying. She is outgunned here and won’t be able to stop Rybakina from moving on.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
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