First-round WTA action has finished in Prague with the draw now halved, but the main contenders and top two seeds, Anett Kontaveit and Barbora Krejcikova, progressed quite easily. We now head into the second round with players fighting for a spot in the final eight. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Who do you think will win?
WTA Prague Day 3 Predictions
Magda Linette vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-head: Linette 1-0 Tomova
Linette chose to play Prague over a home tournament in Warsaw to get on the hard courts and it has proven to be the right decision. The Pole took out third seed Elise Mertens in the first round and is now the favorite to reach the semifinals out of her section. Tomova looked solid in a straight-set win over Daria Snigur though the Ukrainian was returning from injury in that match. The head-to-head does not really matter in this case as it was an ITF qualifying match from 2012 but Linette is the favorite for me regardless.
Prediction: Linette in 2
Wang Qiang vs Dalila Jakupovic
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a straightforward qualifying run with wins over Kaylah McPhee and Valeria Savinykh, Wang got a real challenge in the first round. Rebecca Peterson pushed the former No. 12 player all the way to a third-set tiebreak, though the Chinese player came out on top, winning it 7-4. Jakupovic also came through qualifying with straight-set wins, beating Yuan Yue and Lina Glushko. The 31-year-old advanced through the first round as her opponent, Alison Van Uytvanck, retired from the match after just seven games. Jakupovic is having a strong season, 46-20 on the year, but I still have to see Wang as the favorite here.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Chloe Paquet vs Oksana Selekhmeteva
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a 50-win season in 2021, it has been a slightly down year for Paquet this season. The Frenchwoman won four ITFs in 2021 while reaching just one final this year. Paquet did look good in her first-round win in Prague, coming back from a set down against Tereza Martincova. Selekhmeteva had to battle through qualifying, earning three-set wins over Nikola Bartunkova and Nao Hibino but pulled off the most impressive win of her career so far in straight sets, taking out Sorana Cirstea. I see the two as pretty much equals when considering their chances but will lean towards the more experienced Paquet ever so slightly.
Prediction: Paquet in 3
Marie Bouzkova vs Dominika Salkova
Head-to-head: first meeting
An interesting Czech derby here. After an impressive Wimbledon quarterfinals run that included wins over Danielle Collins and Alison Riske, Bouzkova will hope to push on in the hard court season and get back to the Top 50, a position she would hold had the third slam of the year awarded ranking points. Salkova is a young player, having a breakthrough season at 18 years old. The Czech earned impressive three-set wins in qualifying, taking out Astra Sharma and Natalia Vikhlyantseva, before beating Ylena In-Albon. Bouzkova is the very obvious favorite but it will be interesting to watch Salkova and whether she can challenge the eighth seed.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
