The inaugural 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 Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Wang Xinyu. But who will advance?
WTA Tallinn Day 2 Predictions
Mirjam Bjorklund vs Tereza Martincova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bjorklund comes in as a lucky loser, beating Valentini Grammatikopoulou but losing to Ysaline Bonaventure. The Swede has had a strong season on the ITF circuit, winning an ITF 25 in Orlando and successfully qualifying for the French Open and Wimbledon while earning a 31-18 record. Martincova has had a middling season on the main tour, earning a 19-23 record with a Nottingham semifinal being the highlight of her year. To her credit, the Czech has been beating opponents outside of the Top 100 in recent weeks, so I believe she will get the win over Bjorklund here.
Prediction: Martincova in 3
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Jil Teichmann vs Laura Siegemund
Head-to-head: Teichmann 2-0 Siegemund
After a strong clay season with a Madrid semifinal, Rome quarterfinal, and French Open fourth round, Teichmann has failed to replicate that form, managing to win back-to-back matches only once since May. Siegemund returned after a seven-month break between the last year’s Olympics and February 2022 with mixed success. The 34-year-old won an ITF 25 and 60 in Austria in June but is yet to get a deep run at a WTA event this season. Teichmann should have the level to take out Siegemund mostly easily at this point in the German’s career though her game is not easy to play against.
Prediction: Teichmann in 2
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Anett Kontaveit vs Wang Xiyu
Head-to-head: first meeting
For being the World No. 2 for most of the season, Kontaveit did not have a good season but the Estonian still has a 25-14 record in 2022. After having a very mentally-difficult experience in New York, losing to Serena Williams in her final tournament with the crowd strongly against Kontaveit, the 26-year-old now gets to come home. It is yet to be seen what crowd numbers the tournament draws but Kontaveit is sure to carry their favor. Wang has had a strong season, a 38-21 record, and a good showing on the US hard courts. The 21-year-old reached the semifinals of Washington as a lucky loser and upset Maria Sakkari en route to a US Open third round. Wang will be a strong test for Kontaveit but I expect the Estonian to come out on top.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 3
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