After Jule Niemeier defeated Sofia Kenin in Monday’s only main draw match, WTA Linz really gets going Tuesday with 11 matches on the schedule. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. We split the rest of the day’s matches between two other articles. One features Linda Noskova vs Alison Van Uytvanck, and the other headlines Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Rebeka Masarova. Who do you think will win?
WTA Linz Day 2 Predictions
Kamilla Rakhimova vs Eva Lys
Head-to-head: Lys 1-0 Rakhimova
Rakhimova has been quite poor in 2023, only getting her first win of the season in Linz qualifying over Veronika Bokor, who has never been in the Top 1200. The 21-year-old was winless in Australia in losses to Katerina Siniakova, Lauren Davis, and Kateryna Baindl. Rakhimova enters the main draw as a lucky loser as she also lost to Dalma Galfi in her most recent match. Lys gets a very nice draw here after receiving the wildcard. The German is 5-2 on the year and made her slam main draw debut after qualifying in Australia. Lys should be the favorite here, especially since she won their only previous meeting.
Prediction: Lys in 2
Tamara Korpatsch vs Donna Vekic
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a very strong year in 2022 that saw her reach as high as No. 74, Korpatsch has really struggled this season. The German took quite bad losses in qualifying to Storm Hunter and Kristina Kucova before coming to Melbourne and winning just five games against Emma Raducanu. The 27-year-old’s form did not pick up with the switch to indoor hard, losing in straight sets again to Alison van Uytvanck in Lyon. Vekic has started the season very well, going 7-1 across her United Cup appearances and run to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The Croat did not really have a signature win in Australia but should beat Korpatsch here.
Prediction: Vekic in 2
Marketa Vondrousova vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-head: Vondrousova 2-0 Tomova
Missing more than half of last season, Vondrousova has a long way to go in rebuilding her ranking. The Czech’s early performances have shown that she’s still a threat, going 4-2 in Australia including an upset of Ons Jabeur in Melbourne. Winless coming into Linz, Tomova qualified with wins over Barbara Haas and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Vondrousova should win here, especially since she’s won both of their previous meetings.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 2
Maria Sakkari vs Nuria Parrizas Diaz
Head-to-head: Sakkari 1-1 Parrizas Diaz
Sakkari enters as the top seed in Linz after an interesting run in Australia. The Greek went 5-2 with some decent wins over Elise Mertens, Petra Martic, or Diana Shnaider but suffered disappointing losses to Martina Trevisan and Zhu Lin. Like Sakkari, Parrizas Diaz also reached the third round in Melbourne. The Spaniard upset Beatriz Haddad Maia before beating Anastasia Potapova. Parrizas Diaz could be a tougher opponent than expected but her loss to Anna Bondar last week does not inspire confidence. The two met each other twice before, the first time in 2011 when Sakkari was just 16 years old. Like that time, I expect the Greek to triumph.
Prediction: Sakkari in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
