It’s quarterfinal day at the WTA Adelaide International. The top two seeds at the tournament have survived the onslaught, but for how long? Four fascinating matches are in store including Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur taking on Ukrainian qualifier Marta Kostyuk in the pick of Friday matches. Who will reach the last four in Adelaide?
WTA Adelaide Quarterfinal Predictions
Aryna Sabalenka vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: Sabalenka 3-2 Vondrousova
Sabalenka had a rough start to 2022, but everything clicked into place towards the end of the season. She has something to build on at the start of 2023 and a title win this week wouldn’t be too shabby. She still has a lot of groundwork to do, especially on cutting down her double-faults count. She was credited with the unwanted accolade of serving the most double-faults of any player last season with over 400. Needless to say, her risk-tolerant mindset has generated sufficient wins to keep her ranking afloat in the Top 10.
Vondrousova will fancy her chances here having already knocked off two big hitters in Alexandrova and Kaia Kanepi. The Czech lefty, long touted as a future star in the making, has been so unlucky with injuries, but she possesses an all court craft that can make opponents feel so helpless. Everything seems to have fallen into place for Vondrousova this week and we might witness the upset of the day.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 3
Veronika Kudermetova vs Irina-Camelia Begu
Head-to-head: Kudermetova 1-0 Begu
Kudermetova has been handing out some serious drubbings in Adelaide, serving at least a bagel set in beating Anisimova and Andreescu. But I doubt a similar fate will reprise here. Begu was in top gear in dismissing Ostapenko. If anything, the first set will be crucial because that’s where Kudermetova has actually looked vulnerable. But despite Begu’s excellence in her defense, she will struggle to dictate the pattern of exchanges against Kudermetova’s sheer power. The Russian should roll.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 2
Victoria Azarenka vs Linda Noskova
Head-to-head: first meeting
It is an exciting time for Czech tennis with the emergence of Fruhvirtova and Noskova in their ranks. The latter scored her first Top 10 win this week by beating Daria Kasatkina in a three-set barnburner in the opening round in Adelaide. She backed it up with a thumping win over Claire Liu on Thursday to reach her second WTA quarterfinal. As tidy as Noskova has looked so far, this will be a sizeable challenge against two-time Grand Slam winner Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian has successfully scaled two hurdles this week – beating an in-form Kalinina and China’s rising star Qinwen Zheng. If Azarenka brings her A-game to the table, Noskova will likely flinch under pressure.
Prediction: Azarenka in 2
Ons Jabeur vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-head: first meeting
Jabeur won her season opener–a routine 7-6 6-1 victory over Sorana Cirstea–and avoids joining a handful of top seeds who exited the tournament. Her next opponent Marta Kostyuk has accounted for one big scalp this week by taking down Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. Will the Tunisian fall prey to Kostyuk’s power off the ground?
Jabeur’s shotmaking is spectacular and Kostyuk’s accuracy will almost always have to be on point to outsmart the drop shot artist. It will be far from a stroll, but the top seed should navigate her way into the semifinal.
Prediction: Jabeur in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
