The inaugural WTA Tallinn Open has attracted a very strong field, headlined by the two home stars in Anett Kontaveit and Kaia Kanepi seconded by Belinda Bencic, Madison Keys or Jelena Ostapenko. Them and many others will compete to become the first-ever champion of this Estonian event. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match, including Anett Kontaveit vs Xinyu Wang. But who will advance?
WTA Tallinn Day 2 Predictions
Donna Vekic vs Maileen Nuudi
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a decent stretch on grass, Vekic has struggled on hard courts since. The Croat is on a three-match losing streak coming into Tallinn but has one of the easiest draws possible to start here. Nuudi, an Estonian wild card making her WTA debut, is having a strong season but still finds herself outside the Top 600. The 22-year-old is 41-20 on the year with her first two ITF titles coming in Alkmaar and Eindhoven. Vekic is a class above anyone Nuudi had beaten before and should confirm her standing as a main tour player over the young Estonian.
Prediction: Vekic in 2
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Claire Liu vs Ann Li
Head-to-head: Li 1-0 Liu
A re-match of the 2017 Wimbledon Girls’ Singles final in the first round here. Liu broke a four-match losing streak last week in Tokyo, earning good wins over Alison Riske and Elise Mertens before losing to Zheng Qinwen. Li has struggled this year, a 10-13 record and no back-to-back wins since Miami back in March. Despite the fact that Li won their only previous meeting on the pro level, I expect this match-up to go Liu’s way due to their difference in current form.
Prediction: Liu in 2
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Ysaline Bonaventure vs Shelby Rogers
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bonaventure has had a solid season on the ITF circuit, winning an ITF 60 title in Bendigo to start her season and reaching another final in Versmold in July, earning a 41-24 record while getting herself solidly inside the top 150. Rogers struggled a lot early in the season but came alive on the US hard courts, reaching a final in San Jose and third rounds in Cincinnati and the US Open. Rogers has been a level above recently so I expect her to confirm that here.
Prediction: Rogers in 3
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Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Wang Xinyu
Head-to-head: Haddad Maia 2-0 Wang
Haddad Maia has to be the runaway favorite for Most Improved this season. The Brazilian has won her first three WTA titles this year, reached the final of Toronto, and broken into the Top 15 of the rankings. Wang Xinyu is a great talent who has struggled to establish herself on the main tour this season with a 16-21 record and losing four of her last five matches. Haddad Maia also has the head-to-head going her way, winning both of their previous meetings in straight sets. The Brazilian is one of the biggest threats for the title and should be winning here.
Prediction: Haddad Maia in 2
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