It’s Day 7 of the WTA Miami Open and we’re down to the Round of 16. Things are really starting to heat up with a huge hitting affair between Qinwen Zheng and Anastasia Potapova and an intriguing encounter between Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette and super-consistent Jesscia Pegula taking place. As always at LWOT, we’ve tried to predict the outcome of all the action on day seven.
WTA Miami Day 7 Predictions
Jessica Pegula vs Magda Linette
Head-to-head: First meeting
Magda Linette has done well to back up her Australian Open semifinal with a couple of strong wins here, particularly against Victoria Azarenka in the previous round. For those that can’t blow Linette off the court however, the match can always get a bit tight as the Pole counterpunches her way spectacularly to victories consistently.
It’s fair to say Jessica Pegula could be considered a pretty big hitter nowadays. She doesn’t destroy the ball but she can take it very early and flat with extreme consistency. She should be able to find what it takes to find her way through this one without a hitch.
Prediction: Pegula in 2.
Jelena Ostapenko vs Martina Trevisan
Head-to-head: First meeting
We don’t really rate Martina Trevisan on a hard-court. Her record against top 50 players on the surface is a woeful 1-17 and she’s won just one set over the course of those 17 losses.
Not only that, Jelena Ostapenko’s the kind of player that’ll be left unaffected by the Italian’s consistency. Even with the unpredictability of Ostapenko, this doesn’t feel like a gamble.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Elena Rybakina vs Elise Mertens
Head-to-head: Rybakina 2-1 Mertens
Elise Mertens should have a chance in this match. Utilising her weapon of a backhand, she’s won over a quarter of the top 10 matches she’s played throughout her career.
Meanwhile, Elena Rybakina has been struggling to reacclimate from Indian Wells, being pushed to three in her last two matches as she struggled to control her groundstrokes. Still, she emerged victorious and there are few things more dangerous than Rybakina feeling as though she can play with the house’s money. Even with the backhand Mertens brings to the table, we think Rybakina will make an effort to hit the ground running and will do everything in her power to make that start of the match extremely tough.
Prediction Rybakina in 3
Qinwen Zheng vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Zheng 2-0 Potapova
Qinwen Zheng and Anastasia Potapova have played five sets. So far, four have went Zheng’s way but there have been four tiebreaks and a 7-5 set. In slower conditions, the advantage would probably be with the more reliable heaviness of Zheng’s forehand but, in Miami, there’s no reason this doesn’t play out similarly to their previous meetings.
Potapova was very mentally impressive in her last match whilst Zheng, despite playing wholly solid tennis, has found it quite difficult to trust her first serve delivery this year. We’re going to call it–there’s absolutely the potential for an upset here if Potapova is up for a fight.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
