The 2023 WTA Tour is coming to North America now with the 2023 Merida Open Akron. It will be the first edition of this WTA 250 tournament with the top seed being Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette. But before she gets to play, main draw action kicks off on Monday with eight first-round matches. Unlike many other events in Mexico, this one isn’t played at altitude; in fact it’s almost precisely at sea level. Who do you think will come out on top in all the Day 1 clashes?
WTA Merida Day 1 Predictions
Simona Waltert vs Ysaline Bonaventure
Head-to-head: First meeting
Ysaline Bonaventure opened her year with a tremendous run to the semifinals in Auckland, but hasn’t done all that well since, only picking up two more wins in the next six matches. Simona Waltert is coming off a solid indoor swing, capped off with a runner-up appearance in Grenoble. The Swiss has the nice combination of placement and power on her groundstrokes to stand up to Bonaventure and compared to the 28-year-old, she’s the player we’re yet to have seen the best of.
Prediction: Waltert in 3
Alison Riske-Amritraj vs Xiyu Wang
Head-to-head: Riske 2-0
Alison Riske has only picked up one win this year so far and it was over World No. 489 Alana Parnaby. That’s still more than Xiyu Wang, who’s yet to clinch one, although her opposition was in fact really strong (Karolina Muchova, Karolina Pliskova, Lin Zhu). As it stands, both players would really benefit from taking the win here. Seems like the veteran American is the more likely victor and the court should suit her big game.
Prediction: Riske-Amritraj in 3
Lucia Bronzetti vs Katie Volynets
Head-to-head: First meeting
It was around this time last year that Lucia Bronzetti produced some of the best results of her professional career, skyrocketing herself to a Top 50 debut. She hasn’t quite become a main tour force and is coming into this event on a four-match losing streak, but she did take a set off Anastasia Potapova and Laura Siegemund in her last two encounters. The question is whether Katie Volynets can follow up her Australian Open run, but the American’s game is a bit basic and Bronzetti should have a chance to grab a win on the board here.
Prediction: Bronzetti in 2
Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-head: First meeting
Elisabetta Cocciaretto did extremely well in Mexico last year, reaching the second round of the WTA 1000 event in Guadalajara (from the qualifying) and then taking the title at WTA 125K in Tampico. While the first tournament was played at considerable altitude, the latter one wasn’t, so it probably doesn’t mean much for her chances in Merida this week. She’s still the more in-form player though with Viktorija Golubic coming in on a four-match losing streak.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai USAToday Sports
