Despite withdrawals from home stars Petra Kvitova and Karolina Muchova, the WTA Livesport Prague Open still sports an impressive field of players, including defending champion Barbora Krejcikova or top seed Anett Kontaveit. Singles action begins though most eyes will be drawn to the doubles as three-time Slam champion and Olympic Silver Medalist Andrea Sestini Hlavackova says goodbye to her career, playing her final tournament alongside former long-time partner Lucie Hradecka. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match–including others in a separate article. Who do you think will win?
WTA Prague Day 1 Predictions
Alison Van Uytvanck vs Dalila Jakupovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
Van Uytvanck’s season came alive on grass, struggling before June. The Belgian won the ITF 100 in Surbiton and WTA 125 in Gaiba, going 12-3 that month. It will be certainly interesting to watch how Van Uytvanck will finish the season as she is close to beating her career-high ranking of 37. Jakupovic is one of the easier opponents too see in a draw on the main tour at this point in her career, despite her 34-19 record this season. The Slovene did win her qualifying matches in straight sets, beating Yuan Yue and Lina Glushko, but Van Uytvanck should come out on top here.
Prediction: Van Uytvanck in 2
Vitalia Diatchenko vs Lin Zhu
Head-to-head: Diatchenko 1-1 Zhu
Despite being ranked just outside the Top 100, Diatchenko decided to drop down to play some ITF 25s in Portugal with mostly disappointing results, reaching just one final. Last week, the 31-year-old lost in the quarterfinals of an ITF 60 in Nur-Sultan. Zhu has also spent most of the season on the ITF circuit despite her ranking, though finding a bit more success with an ITF 60 and ITF 25 title. Their previous meetings have been interesting, Zhu winning 6-4 in the third at 2015 Hobart qualifying while Diatchenko dropped just one game in their last meeting at Taipei 2018. Zhu should be the favorite on current form though.
Prediction: Zhu in 2
Tereza Martincova vs Chloe Paquet
Head-to-head: Martincova 1-0 Paquet
Defending finalist Martincova has had a tough season, fully transitioning to the main tour. The grass season had a promising start for the Czech, reaching the best result of 2022 with a semifinal run in Nottingham. Martincova has not won since though, losing her last four matches. She will have a solid opportunity to break that streak against Paquet though who has not found much success on hard courts this season. Martincova also won their previous meeting, winning in straight sets at Tashkent 2019. I expect the 27-year-old to win again, buoyed by the home crowd.
Prediction: Martincova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
