Day 4 at the WTA National Bank Open in Toronto has a loaded slate of tennis as all eight round of 16 matches are set to take place. With nine seeded players still left in the draw, the quality of tennis we have seen in Toronto is comparable to what we should expect later this month in New York. One of the matches of the day will take place between #10 seed Coco Gauff and #6 seed Aryna Sabalenka. We at LWOT have the prediction for that match as well as all other happenings around the grounds of Toronto, but who will advance?
WTA Toronto Day 4 Predictions
Simona Halep vs Jil Teichmann
Head-to-Head: first meeting
2018 National Bank Open champion Simona Halep takes on 25-year-old Jil Teichmann in the third round in Toronto. Both Halep and Teichmann rolled through their first two matches in straight sets. Teichmann took down world #2 Anett Kontaveit for the highest-ranked win of her career. The Swiss native did not win a match during the months of June and July but has seemingly turned it around during the North American hard court swing. Veteran Simona Halep provides a new type of challenge for Teichmann. Halep, who holds a 34-10 record this season, is holding form near her previous world #1 level. She has had success in Canada and I see that continuing this week. Halep’s consistency should win out in this one.
Prediction: Halep in 2
Bianca Andreescu vs Qinwen Zheng
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Bianca Andreescu and Qinwen Zheng are both currently ranked outside the world’s top 50. This is particularly noteworthy as most of the other players remaining in the draw are ranked towards the top of the sport. With that said, Andreescu has played like a top-level player so far this week. She seems comfortable on her home soil, having taken out Daria Kasatkina and Alize Cornet in the first two rounds. Zheng, who fought past a wildcard in round one, was the beneficiary of an early second set retirement from Ons Jabeur in round two. Although she will be more rested than Andreescu, I do not think Zheng will produce the same quality as the Canadian.
Prediction: Andreescu in 2
Belinda Bencic vs Garbine Muguruza
Head-to-Head: Bencic 1-1 Muguruza
#12 seed Belinda Bencic and #8 seed Garbine Muguruza will meet for the third time looking to break their head-to-head split on day four in Toronto. Although Muguruza is the higher-ranked player, Bencic has held much better form throughout the season. Bencic holds a 30-13 record this season compared to the Spaniard’s 9-12 mark. Muguruza has not won back-to-back matches since late February, and there is no reason to believe she will put it together against a tough opponent like Bencic.
Prediction: Bencic in 2
Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-Head: Gauff 2-1 Sabalenka
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka will square off in Roundn3at the National Bank Open in what is a matchup of top-12 ranked players. Gauff does hold the head-to-head lead, but they have split both matches on hard courts. The American had a very impressive three-set second-round win over Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. She is playing with great confidence and will be very tough for anyone to beat this hard-court season. Sabalenka has proven she can take down Gauff, but will her serving woes come to plague her in this match? She connected on just 48.9% of her first serves in her round two victory. This match will be an awesome watch as both players provide very powerful groundstrokes from both wings. I give the slight edge to the American, who I trust to hold a high level throughout.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
