We enter the first Sunday in Rome with a loaded slate of high-level matches at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia 1000 event. The clay in the capital of Italy has been playing slow, leading to grueling three+ hour matches of back-and-forth tennis. Day 6 features some terrific matchups, including No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek taking on veteran Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko. We at LWOT have the preview and prediction for that match and all other happenings around the grounds of Rome. But who will advance?
WTA Rome Day 6 Predictions
Donna Vekic vs Liudmila Samsonova
Head-to-Head: Vekic 2-0 Samsonova
No. 21 seed Donna Vekic takes on No. 16 seed Liudmila Samsonova with a spot in the Rome Round of 16 on the line. Vekic has won their two previous meetings, including a 6-3 6-0 beatdown of Samsonova earlier this year in Australia. Vekic had a phenomenal start to the season but is just 2-2 since the tour transitioned to the clay. Samsonova has not had much more success on the clay and rarely shows her best on the surface. I believe Vekic will ride the confidence from their previous meetings to a win in Rome.
Prediction: Vekic in 2
Paula Badosa vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-Head: Badosa 2-0 Kostyuk
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa is looking to get back to top form on her favorite surface. The Spaniard is 9-3 on the clay this year and is coming off a 6-1 6-4 thrashing of No. 4 seed Ons Jabeur. Badosa will take on Marta Kostyuk in the third round. Kostyuk has won just three matches since March and suffers the inconsistencies of a 20-year-old player. I believe Badosa’s experience and firepower will lead her to a straight-set victory in this match.
Prediction: Badosa in 2
Karolina Muchova vs Camila Giorgi
Head-to-Head: Muchova 1-0 Giorgi
Karolina Muchova and Camila Giorgi enter this third-round matchup off of impressive victories over seeded opponents. Muchova came back from a set down to beat No. 18 seed Martina Trevisan, while Giorgi took down No. 15 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets. The Italian crowd will undoubtedly get behind Giorgi in this match, but Muchova is not someone who goes away easily. I like Giorgi’s current form to win out in a back-and-forth match.
Prediction: Giorgi in 3
Iga Swiatek vs Lesia Tsurenko
Head-to-Head: Swiatek 1-0 Tsurenko
No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek is looking to win in Rome for the third consecutive year. Her title defense started strong when she double-bageled Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Friday to begin her tournament. She takes on Lesia Tsurenko in Round 3. Tsurenko is coming off a nice 6-4 6-4 win over No. 28 seed Bernarda Pera and holds a 5-2 record on the clay this year. In this match, Swiatek should roll. She bested Tsurenko 6-2 6-0 last year at Roland Garros and should win this match with a similar scoreline.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Prange/Getty Images
