Day 3 at the WTA Nottingham Open features some big names on the WTA Tour in what is looking to be a very wide-open field. The players are transitioning their games to the grass-court season, looking to pick up crucial wins before the third Slam of the year. Italian Camila Giorgi vs Great Britain’s Harriet Dart is the match of the day, but who will advance?
WTA Nottingham Day 3 Predictions
Heather Watson vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-Head: Watson 1-0 Golubic
Veterans Heather Watson and Viktorija Golubic meet for the second time on the grass in England. Watson got the best of Golubic 3-6 6-2 6-2 last season in Birmingham. Both players fancy their game on the grass and have a strong history on the surface. Heather Watson looked strong in her 6-4 6-2 Round 1 victory over Katie Volynets. Vikorija Golubic walked over #2 seed Emma Raducanu after Raducanu retired midway through the first set. Golubic had a solid hard court season before struggling on the clay. I believe she will refind her form during this grass season, starting with a solid win over Heather Watson.
Prediction: Golubic in 3
Magda Linette vs Tereza Martincova
Head-to-Head: Linette 1-1 Martincova
Magda Linette and Tereza Martincova are separated by just seven spots in the WTA World Rankings, but they come into this match with very different levels of forms. Linette comes in having won four of her last six matches. Martincova is 3-7 in her last 10. With that said, Martincova has a much better history on grass courts. I think this match will be a very back-and-forth three-setter. I think the difference in this one will be the serving of Martincova. She had a first-serve percentage of 84.3 in her Round 1 win over Oceane Dodin.
Prediction: Martincova in 3
Shuai Zhang vs Jodie Burrage
Head-to-Head: first meeting
#4 seed Shuai Zhang is looking to recapture some form during the grass season after winning just two matches during the clay season. She takes on 23-year-old Jodie Burrage who is coming off of a semifinal run at the W100 event in Surbiton. Burrage has been a force on the ITF circuit during her young career and is trying to make the leap toward consistent success on the WTA Tour. Shuai Zhang is a tough player to break through against. I believe her consistency will prevail in this one.
Prediction: Zhang in 2
Camila Giorgi vs Harriet Dart
Head-to-Head: first meeting
#3 seed Camila Giorgi favors grass as her favorite surface and started strong in Nottingham, winning her Round 1 match over Sonay Kartal 6-4 6-3. Giorgi has a career winning percentage of 57.9% on the grass. Her opponent, the British Harriet Dart, also fancies the grass. She picked up a 6-4 6-3 Round 1 win over Donna Vekic. With that said, Dart has been very out of form. She had won just one out of her last nine matches coming into this tournament. The consistency and power of Giorgi is not someone you break a cold streak against.
Prediction: Giorgi in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
