It should be an entertaining day of semifinal action at the WTA Guadalajara Open with two intriguing matches on the schedule with the four players still standing all no doubt believing that they can reach Sunday’s final. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our preview and prediction for both semifinals, but who will come out on top?
WTA Guadalajara Semifinal Predictions
Victoria Azarenka vs Jessica Pegula
Head-to-head: Azarenka 2-1 Pegula
The last two years have been quite remarkable for Jessica Pegula. The American has risen rapidly through the rankings and no player has won more matches at WTA 1000-level events than her. This week in Guadalajara, she has accounted for Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina (in a three-set thriller that was surely the match of the tournament so far), and former-US Open champions Bianca Andreescu and Sloane Stephens, both in straight sets.
She now faces another Grand Slam champion (and former-world #1) in Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian is not the force she once was, but she has delivered a reminder of her enduring quality this week. She opened her campaign with a 6-4 6-2 win over Elena Avanesyan, before top seed Paula Badosa retired trailing 2-6 in their second-round clash. Azarenka then scored hard-fought three-set wins over Madison Keys and fifth seed Coco Gauff to reach the last four.
Azarenka may well take confidence from having beaten Pegula in two of their previous three meetings. That included a comprehensive 6-4 6-2 win in their most recent match in similar conditions in the quarterfinals in Indian Wells last year. But it is surely Pegula who has played the better tennis this week. Azarenka deserves great credit for the fighting spirit she has shown, but if Pegula maintains the level she has displayed so far in Guadalajara, she should have the edge here.
Prediction: Pegula in 3
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Maria Sakkari vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-head: Sakkari 2-0 Bouzkova
Maria Sakkari has had to work hard for her place in the semifinals. But the Greek can now relax in the knowledge that she has secured her spot at the WTA Finals in Forth Worth thanks to wins over Marta Kostyuk, Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova, with both Collins and Kudermetova her direct rivals for a place at the season-ending championships. How much mental and physical energy she has left, however, remains to be seen.
Marie Bouzkova’s path to the last four has been comparatively straightforward. She did not drop a set in beating Tereza Martincova and Maria Camila Osorio Serrano to reach the third round, where she rallied past the in-form Liudmila Samsonova to win 0-6 7-5 6-3. That set up a quarterfinal clash with Anna Kalinskaya that lasted only seven games before the Russian retired with an injury to send the Czech into her second semifinal at this level.
Unfortunately for Bouzkova, it is hard to see her campaign continuing. She has lost both of her previous meetings with Sakkari, albeit their most recent match in Montreal last season ended in her retiring with an injury. All the same, if Sakkari plays anything like her best tennis, the Greek should have simply too much power and accuracy from the baseline for Bouzkova to contend with, despite the 24-year-old’s excellent court coverage.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
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