Wednesday’s action saw the first major upset occur in Tampico. Marie Bouzkova bowed out in a thriller against Elisabetta Cocciaretto in three great sets of tennis. Leaving the #2 seed aside, our other seven seeds remain in the running for the title in Mexico. Elise Mertens and Leylah Fernandez look best placed to lift the trophy currently. However, young guns Camila Osorio and the aforementioned Cocciaretto may well have something to say about that. This is our only set of WTA Abierto quarterfinals predictions, so let’s get stuck into the four matches taking place on Thursday.
WTA Abierto Tampico Quarterfinal Predictions
Camila Osorio vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Head-to-head: First meeting
This is an enticing battle between to promising youngsters on the WTA Tour. Both Osorio and Cocciaretto are undoubtedly more comfortable on clay courts. Nonetheless, both have shown flashes of good tennis on hard courts and shouldn’t be taken lightly as contenders here. The young Italian toppled Bouzkova with some quality tennis in the last round and that level could well see her go deep here. Osorio is a talented player who has had a great year, but it feels like Cocciaretto has more form and a slightly higher level at the moment. On that basis I’m backing the Italian to advance here. That being said, this should be a tight match by all accounts.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
Katerina Siniakova vs Lin Zhu
Head-to-head: First meeting
Katerina Siniakova’s good form to end the year continues in Tampico with a quarterfinal appearance. Her opponent, Lin Zhu, has struggled a bit at this level and may be out of her depth a bit here. However, the Chinese star has been a force on the ITF and Challenger circuits and may well be ready to step up to the big leagues on a regular basis. A win here for her certainly isn’t out of the question. Siniakova brings better form and more experience in these moments. However, her traditional war of attrition and consistency may not pay dividends here against an opponent with a similar game style. This probably goes three sets and I can see Zhu edging it given her play against Gracheva in the previous round.
Prediction: Zhu in 3
Leylah Fernandez vs Rebecca Marino
Head-to-head: First meeting
This all-Canadian affair may be closer than people imagine. Rebecca Marino is playing the tennis of her life, as evidenced by her highest ranking in over ten years. Also in her favour is the fact that Fernandez hasn’t played much tennis this year and isn’t in the best of form. Still, the young Canadian ripped through the WTA Tour last year and should never be taken lightly when fully fit. Marino has a slim chance at an upset, but I expect Fernandez will use this tournament to re-establish herself as someone to watch in 2023. Expect the youngster to win convincingly in this one.
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
Elise Mertens vs Magda Linette
Head-to-head: 2 – 1 Mertens
This is comfortably the match of the day in Tampico. Top seed Mertens takes on an in-form Magda Linette in a match that should be brilliant from the outset. Both players are great defenders who possess real power when they’re comfortable and in a zone. Both are full of confidence as well, so we should see some great shot making here. Mertens is in superb form at the moment, having lifted a title in Monastir two weeks ago. As such, I’m giving her the slight edge here. However, Linette is perfectly capable of rocking the boat in this one so don’t rule her out.
Prediction: Mertens in 3
