The WTA grass season continues with a stop in Birmingham, Great Britain, for the 2023 Rothesay Classic. This 32-woman draw has welcomed some terrific players to its grounds looking to gain some form ahead of the third Slam of the season. No. 2 seed Jelena Ostapenko gets her grass-court season started on Day 2 in Birmingham with a match against young phenom Linda Noskova. We at LWOT have the preview and prediction for that match and all other happenings around Birmingham. We split the day’s other matches between two articles, featuring Harriet Dart vs Jodie Burrage and Barbora Krejcikova vs Cristina Bucsa. But who will advance?
WTA Birmingham Day 2 Predictions
Lin Zhu vs Katie Boulter
Head-to-Head: Zhu 1-0 Boulter
Katie Boulter is coming off her first WTA title after rolling to victory in Nottingham without dropping a set. She is up to a career-high ranking of world No. 77 and comes to Birmingham brimming with confidence. She takes on Lin Zhu in the first round of the Rothesay Classic. Zhu is amidst a cold spell and has lost six of her last seven matches. She is just 2-6 in her career in tour-level grass matches. Boulter’s form and comfort on the surface should lead her to a straight-set victory.
Prediction: Boulter in 2
Magdalena Frech vs Barbora Strycova
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Veteran Barbora Strycova will look to string together some wins in Birmingham, having played only three professional matches over the past two years. She will take on Magdalena French in Round 1. Frech picked up two three-set victories in qualifying to push herself into the main draw. The 25-year-old Pole reached the quarterfinals last week in Nottingham and has shown comfortability on the grass early in her career. Strycova is a strong grass player in her own right, but I have no reason to believe she will take down Frech in this encounter.
Prediction: Frech in 2
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Rebecca Marino vs Xiyu Wang
Head-to-Head: first meeting
Veteran Canadian Rebecca Marino squares off against Xiyu Wang for the first time. Marino has had an inconsistent season and is just 1-4 in her last five matches. Wang, on the other hand, worked through two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw. The 22-year-old has the tools to perform well on the grass and should be able to push around her Canadian counterpart in this match.
Prediction: Wang in 3
Jelena Ostapenko vs Linda Noskova
Head-to-Head: first meeting
No. 2 seed Jelena Ostapenko begins her grass-court season in Birmingham against 18-year-old Linda Noskova. This will be the first meeting between the two. Ostapenko has a career-winning percentage of 68.5% on the grass and favors it as her best surface. Noskova, on the other hand, will be playing her first WTA grass-court match on Tuesday. The young Czech has the tools to grow into a formidable grass-court player, but she will have her hands full against the power of Ostapenko.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 2
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
