We’re into the semifinal round of a grass WTA 125K Series event in Gaiba. Who’s going to win this year’s edition of “Gaibledon”? Top seed Alison van Uytvanck looks like a strong candidate. On the other side of the draw, 35-year-old Sara Errani has come out of nowhere to make the semifinals as well. Who do you think will feature in Sunday’s championship match?
WTA Gaiba Semifinal Predictions
Alison van Uytvanck vs Harmony Tan
Head-to-head: Tan 1-0
Alison van Uytvanck hadn’t been in great form this year before the grass court season, but the Belgian is on absolute fire right now. Over the past seventeen days, she’s won 10 of her last 11 matches, including taking the title at an ITF event in Surbiton. It seems like the only thing that can stop her is accumulated fatigue.
Harmony Tan took out van Uytvanck in Strasbourg last year (clay), but this will be a completely different matchup on a faster surface. The Frenchwoman is also fairly inexperienced on grass, this will be just her seventh official match. With her opponent in such form and having all the tools to keep points short, Tan should be heavily outmatched here.
Prediction: van Uytvanck in 2
Diane Parry vs Sara Errani
Head-to-head: First meeting
Diane Parry hadn’t played a single grass-court match before this week, but it’s already been a hell of a debut for the 19-year-old talent. The Frenchwoman’s most impressive victory came over Tatjana Maria in the quarterfinals. The German veteran confused plenty of awesome players with the slice-and-dice game in her heyday.
Parry will now have to face another very experienced player in Sara Errani, who’s not even turning back the clock this week, because this might literally be the best grass run she’s ever had. The Italian famously won zero points in a set against Yaroslava Shvedova at Wimbledon 2012. With her weak serve and defensive playstyle, it’s just not the surface she usually plays well on. The former World No. 5 is a fighter though and will try her best to confuse Parry. Still, it’s hard to go against the Frenchwoman, who’s got a much bigger game.
Prediction: Parry in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
