With plenty of star names in the draw, it promises to be an entertaining week of tennis at at the WTA Monastir Open, and as always at LWOT, we’re offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Claire Liu vs Ana Konjuh. But who will come out on top?
WTA Monastir Day 1 Predictions
Zhu Lin vs Despina Papamichail
Head-to-head: first meeting
Like Laura Pigossi, Despina Papamichail is much more equipped for clay-courts. Unlike Pigossi however, her future in the sport isn’t a sure-fire bet. The Greek player only made her maiden main-draw appearance at a WTA event last year as old as 27. It was impressive of her this week to get through qualifying but neither of her wins would have been an accurate reflection of her level, the latter coming against Kristina Mladenovic who seems to be creeping closer and closer to retirement.
Zhu Lin has proved she is capable of holding her own having nestled her way into the top-100. On this surface, against a player who has struggled in bigger matches, Zhu should absolutely have her fair share of advantages in this match-up.
Prediction: Zhu in 2
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Magda Linette vs Lucrezia Stefanini
Head-to-head: first meeting
This match is probably the most interesting of our predictions. The other two seemed like fairly easy decisions but this one should be far closer. Magda Linette is playing well but nothing has come easily for her in any of her wins in the past few weeks. In wins in Seoul and Chennai for example, Linette struggled in sets against Marino, Mladenovic and Hartono, all players ranked from #90 to #180.
In Seoul, Emma Raducanu showed it is possible to boss the Pole about the court if there’s a little extra zip on your shots. Lucrezia Stefanini may not have any huge wins in her career so far but she is winning. That can help a lot in a match where you have nothing to lose. Her run in Caldas da Rainha was mighty impressive and she’ll be keen to continue her streak on the surface. Any sign of weakness and Stefanini will pounce.
Prediction: Stefanini in 3
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Alize Cornet vs Laura Pigossi
Head-to-head: first meeting
Pigossi has the quality to return to the top 100 for sure. Her run to the final in Bogota earlier this year proved that, showing she could be a contender for years to come – on a clay-court at least. The Brazilian’s game is built for that surface having only accrued one hard-court win at qualifying tour-level so far in her career.
Pigossi notched some wins on hard-courts in the Billie Jean King Cup a few weeks ago but against quality opposition, she’s bound to be found out. Alize Cornet is quality opposition. She can vulnerable every now and then but for the most part this year she has brought a very high-level of play to the court especially on a hard-court.
Prediction: Cornet in 2
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