Day 2 of WTA play in Miami is still without the seeded stars but that doesn’t stop fan favorite Leylah Fernandez opening up her campaign alongside former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. As always, we here at LWOT predict every match on the day. We split them between three other articles, featuring Emma Raducanu vs Bianca Andreescu, Sloane Stephens vs Shelby Rogers, and Karolina Muchova vs Jil Teichmann.
WTA Miami Day 2 Predictions
Fernanda Contreras Gomez vs Sorana Cirstea
Head-to-head: 0-0
Let this sink in, before last week at Indian Wells, the last time Cirstea won back-to-back matches on the main tour was in June last year. It’s safe to say that no one expected her quarterfinal run in the Californian desert, and although it ended with the Romanian getting routed by the best player in the world, it was still a massive step in the right direction. Up against the woman ranked #179 in the world, it’s a perfect chance for the 32 year old to start perhaps another big run here, especially given the wild card has lost 10 of her last 13 matches across all tours.
Prediction: Cirstea in 2
Robin Montgomery vs Ana Bogdan
Head-to-head: 0-0
There’s always hype in the air when a teenager gets a wild card to a big event, in this case it’s 18-year-old Robin Montgomery from Washington, D.C. Still looking for her maiden WTA win on tour, Montgomery has come close a few times in the past but unfortunately has just lacked what matters most in crucial moments. It’s also hard to see that win coming here because not only is Bogdan a seasoned professional who has the tools to completely break down the American, the Romanian prefers the slower courts where she can scramble and allow her opponents to beat herself. This is a very hard ask for the teenager and just keeping this close would be great for her.
Prediction: Bogdan in 2
Sofia Kenin vs Storm Hunter
Head-to-head: 0-0
Isn’t it good to see Sofia Kenin playing well again. Whilst the wins somewhat dried up after the great start to the year she has, last week at Indian Wells she routed Top 50 player Sloane Stephens before giving eventual champion Elena Rybakina one of her hardest tests losing in two tiebreak sets. The issue now is whether the American can keep this up, since starting her comeback after a few horrible injuries, this has been the issue, one good performance has far too often been backed up with weeks of playing nowhere near that level again. Fortunately for the 24-year-old, it’s a nice opening match with someone ranked 200. Storm Hunter though is coming off two routine qualifying wins and also an ITF win just last month but it’s still hard to see past the American on this one.
Prediction: Kenin in 2
Leylah Fernandez vs Lesia Tsurenko
Head-to-head: 0-0
We’re at the stage where not many know what to expect of the Canadian anymore. After her amazing run to the 2020 US Open final it looked like the sky was the limit, instead since then she’s dropped outside the world’s Top 50 with just one title win since. With just five wins on the main WTA tour this year, on paper it’s questionable whether the sixth will come here or not. The Ukrainian hasn’t been setting the world alight but she has constantly been winning matches here and there this year, just being solid and beating who she should do would be the best way of describing it. It’s all a matter of if Fernandez can manage to impose her game on her older opponent and hit through the court enough.
Prediction: Fernandez in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
