Just four women remain at the WTA Budapest Grand Prix. Defending champion Yulia Putintseva will battle a relentless Aleksandra Krunic who is taking on all comers with aplomb. And in the second semifinal, Hungary’s Anna Bondar will look to halt qualifier Bernarda Pera’s streak. Who will reach Sunday’s final?
WTA Budapest Semifinal Predictions
Anna Bondar vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-head: first meeting
Anna Bondar is flying the Hungarian flag high at her home tournament. And the ninth seed remains hungry for more scalps this week having just beaten 2022 French Open semifinalist Martina Trevisan in straight sets. She is set to lock horns against a resurgent Bernarda Pera. The American qualifier has reached the last four by winning all 10 sets she has played this week. And she was in fine fettle in dismissing an in-form Elisabetta Cocciaretto on Friday.
Pera had struggled immensely for any sort of momentum in the past couple of months, but she has really caught fire this week. The only drawback coming into Saturday’s match is accumulated fatigue having played two more matches than her opponent. But the fact that she has got the job done in straight sets each time should quell such fears. Expect the American’s topspin and power off the ground to come out on top in this one.
Prediction: Pera in 3
Aleksandra Krunic vs Yulia Putintseva
Head-to-head: Putintseva 2-0 Krunic
Aleksandra Krunic wheeled out some of her best tennis to outplay the talented Xiyu Wang in the quarterfinals. She won 6-0 6-1 against the Chinese left-hander, remarkably repeating the scoreline from her previous round against Zhang Shuai. It is nearly a year since Krunic competed in the semifinals at tour level and faces the ultimate test of the week against the defending champion Yulia Putintseva. The Kazakh would have preferred to complete her quarterfinal win over Lesia Tsurenko, who predictably, retired through injury. Putintseva is the favorite, but Krunic’s hyper-aggressive playing style this week might flip that narrative. She is hitting the ball so crisply and with depth and winning most of her return games. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Serbian has another good day at the office.
Prediction: Krunic in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
