Day 1 at the WTA event in Washington will feature plenty of exciting action, including the return to action of Venus Williams after an absence of over a year. It will also feature the debut of the #1 seed and World #7 Jessica Pegula. We also look at the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article.
WTA Washington Day 1 Predictions
Jessica Pegula vs Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-head: Pegula 1-0 Baptiste
Their one previous meeting ended prematurely due to Baptiste’s retirement, but the reality is that Pegula is the much superior player and clear favorite here. She has been in good in recent months too, with a final in Madrid and a quarterfinal appearance in Roland Garros where she only lost to Iga Swiatek. She should definitely make it through without much issue here.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
Zhu Lin vs Harriet Dart
Head-to-head: Lin 1-1 Dart
The pair split their previous two meetings, which were both tight three-setters. Another very close is to be expected here as both players have very similar levels and are in similar form too. It’s a match that could genuinely go either way depending on form on the day.
Prediction: Dart in 3
Elise Mertens vs Ludmilla Samsonova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Mertens lost in the fourth round of both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but in both tournaments she lost to the eventual finalists, which shows that she is in pretty good form. Samsonova isn’t an easy opponent, but Mertens should be able to pull through here.
Prediction: Mertens in 2
Venus Williams vs Rebecca Marino
Head-to-head: Williams 1-0 Marino
Their previous meeting was at the US Open in 2010, almost 12 years ago. Things are much different now; back then, Williams was still a Slam contender, now she hasn’t played for over a year. Everyone knows what a great champion she is, one of the greatest players in history, but her age and time off make this at best a very unpredictable contest. It’s very hard to anticipate what might happen here.
Predictions: Williams in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
