The WTA closed its grass-court season in London on Saturday, crowning Elena Rybakina as the 2022 Wimbledon champion. These next two weeks are filled with 250 clay-court events, including the WTA Lausanne Open in Switzerland. As always, we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for every match on day three, but who will book their place in the quarterfinals?
WTA Lausanne Day 3 Predictions
Simona Waltert vs Cristina Bucsa
Head-to-head: first meeting
Neither Simona Waltert nor Cristina Bucsa have much tour-level experience. With that said, they both picked up impressive first-round victories in Lausanne. As a Wildcard entrant, Waltert came back from a set down to best the top seed Danielle Collins. The Swiss looked comfortable playing in front of a home crowd. Cristina Bucsa was very consistent in her first-round victory. The Spaniard has a game suited perfectly for the clay. This match should be very entertaining even though both ladies are ranked outside the World’s top 125. I believe the home crowd will help Waltert get to the finish line.
Prediction: Waltert in 3
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Petra Martic vs Erika Andreeva
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both Petra Martic and Erika Andreeva were dominant in the first round. The veteran Martic will look to play to her experience against the 18-year-old Russian. Andreeva holds a career professional record of 88-30 and seems poised to take the next leap in tour-level matches. Holding a 13-4 record since the beginning of May, the youngster is playing with supreme confidence. With that said, Martic is a former top-15 player and is holding great form. I believe she gets the best of Andreeva in a tough three-set match.
Prediction: Martic in 3
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Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Clara Burel
Head-to-head: first meeting
Both Sara Sorribes Tormo and Clara Burel looked strong in their straight-set victories in the first round at the WTA Lausanne Open. Although Burel dropped just one game against Lin Zhu, I have trouble seeing her getting by Sorribes Tormo on the clay. The Spaniard holds an 8-3 record on the surface this season and seems poised to make a deep run in what is a very open draw.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 2
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Leolia Jeanjean vs Tatjana Maria
Head-to-head: first meeting
In what is the only first-round match of day three, qualifier Leolia Jeanjean takes on veteran Tatjana Maria. Maria made an incredible run to the semifinals of Wimbledon last week and is looking to ride that momentum to a strong second half of 2022. However, at 34 years of age, it is fair to ask whether she is worn down after a long Wimbledon run. Jeanjean worked her way through qualifiers without dropping a set and is in good form on the clay. With that said, expect the in-form German to have the edge.
Prediction: Maria in 2
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Irina-Camelia Begu vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a solid run to the third round at the All England Club, Irina-Camelia Begu returns to her preferred surface of the clay. The veteran Romanian holds an 8-3 record on the dirt this season. Her opponent, Anastasia Potapova, also fancies the clay as her preferred surface. Potapova won the title in Istanbul back in April after advancing out of the qualifying bracket. With that said, her first-round win in Lausanne was her first main draw tour-level win since then. Expect this match to be competitive, but for the form of Begu to win out.
Prediction: Begu in 3
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