The WTA 125 event in Tampico, Mexico is one of the last events of the year. With the WTA Finals places locked in, several of the worlds remaining top players have called it quits for the season. However, the draw here features quite a few big names. There are eight matches taking place on Tuesday which should make for a good day of tennis. We cover all eight across two sets of WTA Abierto Tampico day 1 predictions, with this set being the first. Be sure to look over our other set for full coverage of the day’s play.
WTA Abierto Tampico Day 1 Predictions
Emma Navarro vs Moyuka Uchijima
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Navarro
Moyuka Uchijima is a little known but promising young Japanese star on the cusp of breaking into the top 100 on the WTA Tour. Emma Navarro, the same age and equally promising, won the pair’s only meeting last year on clay. However, Uchijima is having the better year and has three ITF titles to her name compared with Navarro’s one. As such, the Japanese youngster should be the favourite to even up the head-to-head here and take a step closer to that top 100 year end ranking.
Prediction: Uchijima in 3
Eugenie Bouchard vs Renata Zarazua
Head-to-head: 1 – 0 Zarazua
Eugenie Bouchard is a fan favourite and sweetheart of the tennis world. As such, her comeback continues to receive hype. However, she now sits at #339 in the world rankings and it might be time to accept that she isn’t coming back. Her opponent, Renata Zarazua, has struggled as well in 2022. The Mexican looked like she may break into the top 100 last year but didn’t push on. She now sits well outside the top 200 and will struggle to close that gap again. That being said, Zarazua beat Bouchard comfortably in 2020 and is my favourite to edge out a close affair here.
Prediction: Zarazua in 3
Alycia Parks vs katerina Siniakova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Alycia parks showed the world she’s the real deal when she toppled Karolina Pliskova and Maria Sakkari in Ostrava at the start of the month. The young American has the game to make inroads on the WTA Tour and a good run this week could set her up to do just that in 2023. However, she must first get past recent title winner katerina Siniakova if she is to achieve that goal. The Czech was the surprise winner in Portoroz in September after a quiet singles season. However, she remains a very solid player who shouldn’t be taken lightly. Parks has more upside, but Siniakova’s consistency should win out in this one.
Prediction: Siniakova in 3
Marie Bouzkova vs Elina Avanesyan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Elina Avanesyan is another in the long line of young, talented Russians pushing their way into the WTA Tour. She has a tough ask here though in #2 seed Marie Bouzkova. The Czech recently lifted a title in Prague and last week made the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event in Guadalajara. As such, she will be full of confidence and eyeing the title here. Avanesyan is yet to prove she can consistently play at the level the WTA Tour demands. By contrast, Bouzkova is establishing herself as one of its best players. As such, the Czech should win easily enough here, though Avanesyan is a name you want to keep an eye out for in the future.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
