Day 4 arrives in Granby, the final WTA tournament in the run-up to the final Slam of the year. Three of the four matches we’re trying to predict today feature a Canadian, so the atmosphere for each one should be infectious. Sit back, relax and see if LWOT can predict the outcomes of these exciting round of 16 matches!
WTA Granby Day 4 Predictions
Marta Kostyuk vs Marina Stakusic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Marina Stakusic is a 17-year-old Canadian wildcard with nothing to lose. This can often be a recipe for success against higher-ranked players hitting with reckless abandon to win by redlining your game.
Unfortunately for Stakusic, Marta Kostyuk doesn’t present the match-up to let that happen. Her power from the back of the court is just too immense–the Ukranian will look to dictate play wherever she can and may not give Stakusic the chance to swing freely.
The problem with this is Kostyuk’s game has been prone to peaks and troughs recently. Kostyuk has been both convincing and unconvincing on court regardless of who’s been on the other side of the net so we’ll back her to drop a set with this mind but to ultimately win the match.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 3
Xiyu Wang vs Cadence Brace
Head-to-head: First meeting
Though it’s a battle of the youngsters, Xiyu Wang is practically a veteran compared to another 17-year-old Canadian wild card in Cadence Brace. The 21-year-old is four years her opponent’s senior and has shown her maturity in her composure mixing with some hardy players. In Washington earlier this month, she used her serve to blast her way through Victoria Azarenka, Donna Vekic and Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria.
Cadence Brace may be a truly talented up-and-comer but playing against unnaturally powerful lefty serves for the first time can be a dizzying experience. She’ll surely make a breakthrough at some point–she might even steal a set on a tiebreak with the home crowd behind her–but she’s unlikely to have the complete skillset required to walk away with the win.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Tereza Martincova vs Diane Parry
Head-to-head: First meeting
Diane Parry is undoubtedly built for natural surfaces. The weight of her shot lends itself to clay courts whilst her variety off both sides allows her to adapt to grass courts fairly well too. Despite her immense talent, the consistent high bounce of a hard-court doesn’t suit her game.
That said, it would take a decent day from Tereza Martincova to see her off the court. The former world #40’s stock has been diminishing lately so there will likely be patches of middling play that Parry could take advantage of. Enough for a set perhaps but Martincova’s comfortability on the surface should eventually pay dividends to get her a much needed win.
Prediction: Martincova in 3
Rebecca Marino vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: Paolini 1-0 Marino
Given her diminutive figure and counter-punching game style, it’s easy to fall into the trap of considering Jasmine Paolini a clay-court specialist. Let’s not forget however that her one and only tour title came on the hard-courts of Portoroz last year and that most of her highest ranked wins have come on this surface.
Despite this, Rebecca Marino is probably the Canadian left in the draw with the most potential – if there was a home player that was going through to the quarterfinals, it would most likely be her. Paolini’s returning is good but if Marino is on, her serve and forehand combo can be truly devastating.
Prediction: Marino in 2
