Day 6 at the WTA event in Abu Dhabi will feature the two semifinal matches, with four Top 30 players vying for the title. The first seed Daria Kasatkina lost today in the quarterfinals, which should theoretically open things up further. As the only top 10 player left in the draw, Belinda Bencic is the favorite to win the title, but all four players have very legitimate chances of hoisting the trophy on Sunday.
WTA Abu Dhabi Semifinal Predictions
Qinwen Zheng vs Liudmila Samsonova
Head-to-head: Zheng 1-1 Samsonova
Both players had amazing runs so far this week, overcoming favored higher ranked opponents to get to this stage of the tournament. Zheng actually defeated the #1 seed of the tournament Daria Kasatkina, dropping only three games in the process and showing an amazing level of play. She had already beaten #2 Jelena Ostapenko as well and is yet to drop a set this week. Samsonova is also showing a great level this week, beating Krejcikova and Kudermetova back to back to reach this stage. Their two previous matchups were a split, with Samsonova winning the most recent one in Tokyo last year. But looking at what she’s doing this week, Zheng might just be able to continue her amazing run.
Prediction: Zheng in 2
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Belinda Bencic
Head-to-head: Bencic 1-1 Haddad Maia
Bencic is the highest ranked player left in the draw and favorite to win the title, but Haddad Maia has been playing very well herself this week, even beating the Australian Open finalist and reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. She might struggle at Slam level, but she’s a very consistent performer at tour level and always a tough nut to crack, she will certainly not make life easy for Bencic here. Still, Bencic is overall the superior player and should be able to pull through here.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
