The second day of the WTA 1000 in Rome features some close matches. The pair of lefties Townsend and Bonaventure–the movement of Davis versus the weight of shot from Cocciaretto, and more. We’ve tried to predict the outcome of these close contests and others in the Italian capital. We split the day’s 20 matches between five articles–that means four articles after this one. The other articles feature Elina Svitolina vs Lesia Tsurenko, Paula Badosa vs Anna-Lena Friedsam, Sloane Stephens vs Nadia Podoroska, and Sara Errani vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Who do you think will win?
WTA Rome Day 2 Predictions
Taylor Townsend vs Ysaline Bonaventure
Head-to-head: Townsend 2-1 Bonaventure
Taylor Townsend is an underrated clay-courter. She can strike angles others can’t with her lefty spins and she isn’t afraid of finishing points up at the net if the rally extends.
Ysaline Bonaventure hits a big ball but may not hit with the spin required to consistently push Townsend off the baseline. She will be able to deal with a few of those angles better than most as a fellow lefty but the American is looking like the stronger of the two qualifiers.
Prediction: Townsend in 3
Magdelena Frech vs Matilde Paoletti
Head-to-head: First meeting
It’s a little too early in Matilde Paoletti’s career to entertain a win. She’s had no Top 100 wins so far in her career and this is her first encounter against a player with consistently world class depth to her balls on a slow surface.
Magdelena Frech will see flashes of brilliance from the wild card but she should be able to inevitably hold off the threat of an upset with her steady base level.
Prediction: Frech in 3
Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs Linda Fruhvirtova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Linda Fruhvirtova is still finding her feet on clay, possessing a losing record of 14-17 on the surface across all levels. Still, she’s got plenty of firepower when she can find her rhythm on the surface.
Elena-Gabriela Ruse will test the patience of the young Czech but, from what we’ve seen of her baseline game so far, it seems likely Fruhvirtova will pass with flying colors.
Prediction: Fruhvirtova in 2
Lauren Davis vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Head-to-head: 1-1
Lauren Davis can move and return like the wind. She possesses the game to play well on slower clay–with the percentages so small in our sport however, she hasn’t quite put together a mind-blowing set of wins at a big tournament. At the same time, only last week Davis reached the semifinals of Reus, defeating Osorio Serrano, Tomova and Grabher back-to-back.
Elisabetta Cocciaretto will be aware of the threat on the other side of the net. She has consistently impressed in these conditions and will be rallied by the crowd. There’s no doubt this will be a close one but the overall pedigree of the Italian suggests she is the ever-so-slight favourite.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
