The WTA Dubai 1000 kicked off yesterday with players like Paula Badosa, Danielle Collins, or Alize Cornet already out. The question remains though, can anyone stop Iga Swiatek? As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Who do you think will win?
Jelena Ostapenko vs Katarina Zavatska
Head-to-head: Zavatska 1-0 Ostapenko
Defending champion Ostapenko, who won this event when it was a WTA 500 last year, has had an interesting season so far. Since her run to the Australian Open quarterfinals, the Latvian is 2-2 with wins over Danielle Collins and Madison Keys and losses to Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen. Zavatska got her first back-to-back wins of the season in Dubai qualifying, beating Madison Brengle and Stefania Bojica. Unless Ostapenko is completely misfiring, she should win here.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Bernarda Pera vs Karolina Muchova
Head-to-head: Pera 1-1 Muchova
Outside of a win over Zheng Qinwen at the Australian Open, it has been a largely unimpressive start to the season for Pera. The American plays her best on clay but winning just three games against Madison Brengle in Doha qualifying last week is rough. Muchova is still trying to rebuild her ranking, sitting outside the Top 120 at the moment but her play has shown a high level this season, taking very tight three-set losses to Danielle Collins and Caroline Garcia. The two have split their first two meetings, both on clay, and with the surface suiting Muchova here, the Czech has to be the favorite.
Prediction: Muchova in 2
Veronika Kudermetova vs Anhelina Kalinina
Head-to-head: Kudermetova 1-0 Kalinina
Kudermetova, last year’s finalist in Dubai, comes into this year’s edition in very nice form. The Russian beat Barbora Krejcikova, Sofia Kenin, and Coco Gauff in Doha last week en route to a semifinal. Kalinina, making her main draw debut in Dubai, has not followed up her decent form from Australia. The Ukrainian beat a tired Alycia Parks in Linz before losing to Anna-Lena Friedsam and Lauren Davis in Doha qualifying. Expect Kudermetova to keep her form going here.
Prediction: Kudermetova in 2
Karolina Pliskova vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: Pliskova 2-0 Vondrousova
Two Czechs at different stages of their comebacks. Pliskova had a largely disappointing season in 2022 after suffering an injury that ruled her out of the Australian Open, only getting back to her best on North American hard courts. The 30-year-old made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open but won just three games against Ekaterina Alexandrova in her most recent match. Vondrousova missed six months of 2022, coming back at the end of October. The 23-year-old has a solid 7-3 record this season so far, making the quarterfinals of Adelaide, the third round of the Australian Open, and a semifinal in Linz. Pliskova has won their previous two meeting in straight sets, though back in 2019 and 2020 when she was a top player. I think it will be a close battle won by Vondrousova this time around.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 3
Photo Credit: © Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
