The opening day of the WTA Monterrey Open will feature five first-round matches, headlined by second seed Marie Bouzkova squaring off against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Monterrey Day 1 Predictions
Caroline Dolehide vs Jule Niemeier
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is a matchup Jule Niemeier should win routinely despite her dismal start to the year. Niemeier has tallied two wins at six tournaments. However, most of her defeats cannot be attributed to lack of effort, with Niemeier losing to stiffer opposition in most of the tournaments she has played in. Dolehide is a feisty competitor and tends to win a lot playing on home soil, particularly on the ITF circuit. But these two players are levels apart.
Prediction: Niemeier in 2
Lin Zhu vs Anna Bondar
Head-to-head: first meeting
Zhu Lin suffered a post-title win hangover in Merida although McNally is not the kind of player you want to face right off the bat. So Lin shouldn’t be too hard on herself. But I expect a response from the Chinese woman whose solitary first-round defeat this year came whilst playing Sofia Kenin in Hobart. The draws have not been kind for Anna Bondar, who has run into almost every in-form player. And this looks like another short straw for the Hungarian.
Prediction: Lin in 2
Despina Papamichail vs Ysaline Bonaventure
Head-to-head: Papamichail 3-1 Bonaventure
Papamichail is painstakingly building her ranking. She has played three ITF tournaments on Mexican soil since the start of February, reaching a quarterfinal in one and a semifinal in the other. This could be a tricky one for Ysaline Bonaventure. She is having a better season than Papamichail, but the Greek has won three of their previous meetings. The qualifier could have a mental edge if the match gets super tight.
Prediction: Papamichail in 3
Fernanda Contreras Gomez vs Rebecca Marino
Head-to-head: first meeting
Contreras Gomez had Alycia Parks on the ropes in their encounter in Merida this past week. And had the Mexican been a little more clinical, she would have toppled the young American. It would have been a confidence booster and instead, it is now four straight defeats. Rebecca Marino was extremely unfortunate not to pick up a single main draw win in the Middle East. The draws were pretty much loaded with Top 50 players and had to play a ton of qualifying matches. The Canadian, with the ammunition of a big first serve, should get that overdue win.
Prediction: Marino in 3
Marie Bouzkova vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Head-to-head: Bouzkova 2-0 Schimedlova
This could be the year Bouzkova lands that Monterrey title in her trophy cabinet. She lost to Elina Svitolina in the 2020 final before the pandemic hiatus and lost in the quarterfinal to Haddad Maia last year. The downside is that she has only won two main draw matches this year which contradicts that theory. Still, she hasn’t encountered any sort of resistance in beating Schimedlova in the past. And with Bouzkova now a superior and improved player, she looks primed to inflict a third defeat on the Slovak in the series.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 2
Main Photo Credit: Bnp Paribas Open Desirae Krawczyk 411
