Some of these first-round matches at the WTA Qatar Total Open in Doha are just absolutely incredible. Paula Badosa (WTA #20) takes on Beatriz Haddad Maia (#12), then you also have Madison Keys (#23) facing Jelena Ostapenko (#14). Perhaps the most exciting one of them all features the up-and-coming Qinwen Zheng against Maria Sakkari. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Doha Day 2 Predictions
Paula Badosa vs Beatriz Haddad Maia
Head-to-head: Badosa 1-0
Paula Badosa and Beatriz Haddad Maia just faced off in Adelaide last month with the Spaniard clinching a hard-fought win 7-6 7-5. While she remains unbeaten this year, the 25-year-old suffered a thigh injury that forced her out of the Australian Open and she hasn’t appeared on the court since. Haddad Maia should be in better match rhythm, having taken three wins in Abu Dhabi last week, including a very impressive victory over Elena Rybakina.
Prediction: Haddad Maia in 3
Madison Keys vs Jelena Ostapenko
Head-to-head: Keys 3-1
We’ve got two extreme hard-hitters going against each other here. They’ve only placed once on hard courts with Madison Keys taking it in Cincinnati last year. In fact, the American won their all three completed meetings. Who takes it tomorrow? It should be really close with Keys owning a great 7-1 win/loss record for the year, while Jelena Ostapenko already got a nice warm-up for this part of the season in Abu Dhabi last week. Pretty much a coin flip and the Latvian’s good enough to get a non-retirement win over Keys at some point.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Maria Sakkari vs Qinwen Zheng
Head-to-head: Sakkari 1-0
That breakout run is right around the corner for Qinwen Zheng and she once again got really close last week. Just like last year in the final at Tokyo, she was stopped by Liudmila Samsonova in the semifinals in Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Maria Sakkari reached the same stage of an indoor event in Linz. Zheng will be better used to the conditions and might just be a more exceptional ball-striker. If she can take this one, it could be one of the wins that will catapult her to the very top of the sport.
Prediction: Zheng in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
