Expect an entertaining day of tennis on Tuesday at the WTA Cluj Open with eight first-round matches on the slate in Romania. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs Harmony Tan. But who will secure their spot in the round of 16?
WTA Cluj Open
Olga Danilovic vs Kamilla Rakhimova
Head-to-head: Rakhimova 3-1 Danilovic
Kamilla Rakhimova leads the head-to-head 3-1, winning their only indoor match at an ITF event in Istanbul three years ago. Now they’ve both qualified for the event, although in very different fashion with the Russian barely losing games, while Olga Danilovic survived two rough battles. The Serbian’s lefty serve and big game could be the deciding factors here, although struggling in the qualifying could empty her fuel tank a bit.
Prediction: Danilovic in 3
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Nuria Parrizas Diaz vs Irina Bara
Head-to-head: Parrizas Diaz 1-0 Bara
While neither has played a lot indoor tennis in their careers, particularly at this level, there’s a big discrepancy in how comfortable they usually perform away from their preferred clay. Irina Bara is basically a one-surface pony, while Nuria Parrizas Diaz likes playing more aggressively and would probably even call hard courts her favorite surface. The courts in Cluj should reward her game far more than they will help Bara.
Prediction: Parrizas Diaz in 2
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Viktoria Golubic vs Diane Parry
Head-to-head: first meeting
Diane Parry has a 2-8 win/loss record on indoor hard courts in her professional career. Only one of these matches came on the main tour and it seems like it should be mostly a matter of sample size with her aggressive playstyle. The courts in Cluj probably aren’t fast enough for someone like Viktorija Golubic to rush her backhand. The youngster has a good chance of winning this rare clash of one-handers on the WTA Tour.
Prediction: Parry in 3
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Eugenie Bouchard vs Anhelina Kalinina
Head-to-head: Bouchard 1-0 Kalinina
Eugenie Bouchard is still very early in her comeback, but some of the signs have been extremely promising. In fact, one of the stories of the WTA Cluj Open is whether Eugenie Bouchard will be able to keep up her level from Ostrava. The former Wimbledon runner-up played a great match against Belinda Bencic last week and could be a threat to go far is she’s able to repeat that quality. The Canadian still has some supreme ball-striking talent and if she can repeat her level from the last couple of performances, she should be able to get the better of Anhelina Kalinina here.
Prediction: Bouchard in 2
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