Friday is quarterfinal day at the WTA Agel Open in Ostrava. Eight women will vie to win the penultimate WTA 500 title on the calendar. Four intriguing matches are on schedule on Friday, including a heavyweight clash between Elena Rybakina and Petra Kvitova. Who will advance to the semifinals?
WTA Ostrava Quarterfinal Predictions
Barbora Krejcikova vs Alycia Parks
Head-to-head: first meeting
Krejcikova secured her place in the last eight via walkover after Belinda Benic withdrew due to a foot injury. It extends the Czech’s unbeaten streak to seven matches following her high-quality title run in Tallinn last week. Krejcikova will now face a surprise quarterfinalist in Alycia Parks. Having scaled the qualifying hurdles, the devout American scored emphatic wins over Karolina Pliskova and then world #7 Maria Sakkari in the main draw to reach her maiden WTA quarterfinal. Parks conjured up her best tennis against the Greek in one pressure moment after another with poise and nerve beyond her years. She fired an astonishing 59 winners, including 15 aces. But will this fairytale run have another chapter? Parks is playing well enough to make a contest out of this, but expect the in-form Krejcikova to unfurl her full array of shots and advance into the semifinals.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Iga Swiatek vs Caty McNally
Head-to-head: first meeting
In 15 tournament participations this year, Swiatek has made the quarterfinals or better in ten of them–the latest of which came in Ostrava following her retirement win over Ajla Tomljanovic. She has lifted an unmatched seven titles in 2022 including 58 match wins. McNally, for her part, will relish the opportunity of taking on the world #1 in a breakthrough week for her. The American has been showboating en route to her first WTA 500 quarterfinal, delivering some silky shots and showing incredible reflexes to defeat Karolina Muchova in three sets. This will be the first career meeting between Swiatek and McNally. And while the Ohio native has shown a glimpse of her true potential in Ostrava, she will likely run out of lives against top-seeded Pole who will seize authority in baseline rallies.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Tereza Martincova
Head-to-head: Alexandrova 3-3 Martincova
Alexandrova was the last player to book her spot in the quarterfinals, leaving it late to beat Daria Kasatkina 6-1 7-6. Her 31-17 record in 2022 is a personal best and she is projected to crack the Top 20 for the first time next week. Considering her season started so poorly in Australia, she has done a remarkable job to turn her fortunes around. Martincova, for her part, reached her third quarterfinal of the season with a retirement win over Anett Kontaveit. Alexandrova won the pair’s last meeting on an indoor hard court (St. Petersburg 2021) and the conditions here suit her big game. If she serves well, there’s not too much Martincova can do. But the tattooed Czech is well attuned to the conditions after navigating a very tricky opener against Jil Teichmann, so she should keep the score reasonably close.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 3
Elena Rybakina vs Petra Kvitova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kvitova is still recovering from a cold and narrowly survived her round-of-16 encounter against Paula Badosa. The Czech lefty candidly told reporters after that match she was a spent force physically. Despite Kvitova walking a tightrope in Ostrava, it is tough to trust Rybakina on the basis of her recent record. The tall Kazakh has made three first-round exits in the second half of the campaign. At the same time, she relinquished her grasp of the Portoroz final, losing agonizingly to Katerina Siniakova last month. However, there is a clear upturn in form this week as she dug herself out of a losing position against Keys and Sasnovich. Rybakina’s resilience should come to the fore yet again against an ailing Kvitova.
Prediction: Rybakina in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
