Day 2 of the WTA Rothesay Open in Nottingham, one of the first events of the grass court season, brings lots of excitement. After a great first day of action, the courts will become more of a familiarity over these next weeks as players look to fine-tune their game before Wimbledon. Notably, French Open semifinalist Beatriz Haddad Maia will begin her grass season, returning to her favorite surface. We at LWOT have the preview and pick for her match and all other happenings in Nottingham, including four matches in a separate article.
WTA Nottingham Day 2 Predictions
Harriet Dart vs Rebecca Marino
British tennis on the women’s side hasn’t been doing great lately, with Raducanu’s season-ending injury and no British players landing in the WTA Top 100. Harriet Dart is looking to change that this week, playing on her best surface in front of a home crowd. On the opposite side of the net, Marino has been a bit stagnant since her comeback two years ago, and will definitely look to start off strong this grass court season. Dart’s had a bit of match experience on the grass, falling to top seed Tatjana Maria in three sets in a British ITF tournament. In the end, feeling comfortable on the grass will help Dart, and I feel that she’ll be able to win this one.
Prediction: Dart in 3
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Tereza Martincová vs Jodie Burrage
This is a similar matchup to the one above. Burrage has already played on grass, and she notably stunned Paula Badosa last year in Eastbourne. Burrage did surprisingly lose to player outside the Top 200 last week, so it could be a messy encounter in this first-round matchup. Martincova’s game translates better to clay, so she’ll have to adjust her game style to grind out the win. Overall, the home crowd should get Burrage through another tight match.
Prediction: Burrage in 3
Anhelina Kalinina vs Parrizas-Diaz
Expectations seemed high for Kalinina after making the final of Rome, but she shockingly crashed out in the first round of the French Open. With lots of time to reset, the Ukranian’s fast game should translate well to grass. She defeated Maria Sakkari last year in Eastbourne, a match that certainly made her more well-known on the tennis circuit. Parrizas-Diaz hasn’t been in great form this year compared to 2022, and has never won a WTA-level grass court match. Her late-blooming breakthrough was admirable in 2021, yet I don’t see the Spaniard making any headway on grass. Kalinina should cruise through this one.
Prediction: Kalinina in 2
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Lesia Tsurenko
The defending champion of Nottingham makes her return on the grass, as Haddad Maia easily plays her best tennis on this surface. With her tricky lefty game, the Brazilian went on an unprecedented 12-match winning streak, winning both Nottingham and Birmingham. Now in the Top 10 for the first time, it’ll be interesting to see whether she has a letdown after a big Paris semifinal run. While I don’t think she’ll be able to replicate her win streak from last year, she should make it through this one. Tsurenko shouldn’t be completely written out though, as she dominated Andreescu at the French, and has the game to take out top players.
Prediction: Haddad Maia in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
