Day 1 at the WTA Prague Open brought an upset with third seed Elise Mertens falling at the first hurdle while Andrea Sestini Hlavackova extended her career by one more match at the very least. Day 2 will have the rest of the first-round matches, including top two seeds Anett Kontaveit and Barbora Krejcikova in action. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match–split between this and a separate article. Who do you think will win?
WTA Prague Day 2 Predictions
Natalia Vikhlyantseva vs Linda Noskova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Vikhlyantseva currently holds a losing record for the third straight season, a semifinal at an ITF 60 in Chiasso the only time she won back-to-back matches this season. The former No. 54 enters the main draw as a lucky loser, beating Mariam Bolkvadze before losing to 18-year-old Czech Dominika Salkova. Vikhlyantseva will now play another young star on the rise in Linda Noskova. The 17-year-old is having another strong season, winning an ITF 60 in Croissy-Beaubourg and an ITF 100 in Versmold, and now knocking on the door of the Top 100. This is a great opportunity for Noskova to show what she has in front of her home crowd and Vikhlyantseva’s level is far off from being able to challenge her here.
Prediction: Noskova in 2
Alize Cornet vs Anastasia Zakharova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Despite a losing record this season, 2022 has been a great year for Cornet. The 32-year-old reached her first slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open and ended the biggest win streak of this millennium when she defeated Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon. Zakharova has picked up three ITF 25 titles and had a strong showing in qualifying, dropping just nine games in wins over Antonia Lottner and Sinja Kraus. We have seen Cornet struggle outside of Slams this year so Zakharova could have a decent chance of the biggest upset of her young career so far.
Prediction: Zakharova in 3
Sorana Cirstea vs Oksana Selekhmeteva
Head-to-head: first meeting
Cirstea has had some decent runs this season, reaching semifinals at Lyon, Istanbul, and Birmingham as well as a fourth-round run at the Australian Open. The Romanian veteran will come up against an up-and-coming Russian teenager in Selekhmeteva, the 19-year-old winning her biggest title at an ITF 60 earlier this month. Selekhmeteva had to battle in qualifying but got the wins over Nikola Bartunkova and Nao Hibino. Cirstea should have more than enough to win this match but it will be an interesting challenge from Selekhmeteva.
Prediction: Cirstea in 2
Ylena In-Albon vs Dominika Salkova
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a 56-win season in 2021, In-Albon has not quite managed to follow it up with the same level of success. The Swiss did win an ITF 60 in Saint-Gaudens but made just one more final at that level, holding a 29-23 record this year. Salkova is yet another Czech teenager coming through though she has truly come out of nowhere this season. The 18-year-old won her first pro title in May, winning an ITF 25 in Osijek as a qualifier. Salkova has shown a great level in qualifying, coming back from a set down against Astra Sharma and Natalia Vikhlyantseva, players with a decent amount of main tour experience. On current form, I see the Czech as a slight favorite.
Prediction: Salkova in 3
Barbora Krejcikova vs Anna Blinkova
Head-to-head: Krejcikova 2-0 Blinkova
It has been a difficult season for defending champion Krejcikova, starting the season strong in Australia with a Sydney final and an Australian Open quarterfinal. The Czech missed three months with injury, making her unprepared for defending her French Open title, where she ended up losing in the first round. The Czech’s form has been middling since and will be looking for a jolt before the US Open Series. Blinkova has had a strong season with four finals, including WTA 125 Saint-Malo. Krejcikova has been the better player in their two previous meetings and with the crowd behind her, I expect the Czech to come out on top.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
