The WTA Palermo Open might not have boast any top 25 players in the field, but it should still provide plenty of entertaining tennis and some very tight matches, with many players feeling they can get their hands on a rare WTA trophy. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on day one, including Zhang Shuai vs Rebeka Masarova. But who will book their place in the second round?
WTA Palermo Day 1 Predictions
Irina-Camelia Begu vs Marina Bassols
Head-to-head: first meeting
Irina-Camelia Begu put together a couple of very solid runs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and should come into this tournament riding a wave of confidence as a result. She is certainly a huge favourite in this match, facing #226 Marina Bassols, who had to come through qualifying to make it to the main draw. Bassols’ success has all come at ITF level in her career so far and, although she looked sharp in the qualifying, it’s highly unlikely that she’ll be able to get past a top 50 player in Begu here, particularly as the Romanian is in such fine form.
Prediction: Begu in 2
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Ana Bogdan vs Sara Sorribes Tormo
Head-to-head: Sorribes Tormo 2-1 Bodgan
Sara Sorribes Tormo looked to be in great form ahead of Roland Garros, but an injury in Rome unfortunately saw her sidelined ahead of the French Open. She couldn’t do much during the grass season, a surface she has not thrived on historically, but she enjoyed a welcome return to form in reaching the quarterfinals in Lausanne on clay last week and will be looking to continue making progress. Ana Bogdan, meanwhile, is competent on this surface and will surely cause her opponent some issues, but Sorribes Tormo should be able to prevail here.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 2
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Oceane Dodin vs Matilde Paoletti
Head-to-head: first meeting
It’s not every day you see the world #943 in a WTA tournament, but here we are. Matilde Paoletti might be unusually close to a four-digit ranking at the moment, but she’s young and has time to make progress and she had an impressive run through the qualifying to get to the main draw. That said, Oceane Dodin, who reached the semifinals at this event in 2021, is the far higher ranked and more seasoned player here and is the clear favourite to advance to the next round as a result.
Prediction: Dodin in 2
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