The grass season is a fickle time of the year. Wimbledon is just around the corner and players have precious little time to play themselves into form. The WTA tournament at Birmingham will therefore be very important to many of the players. Can anyone take advantage of the notoriously difficult surface? Will any top players fall by the wayside? We share our predictions for the third day of action in Birmingham. We’ve also published a second article predicting the other four matches on this day.
Editor’s Note: Some of these matches are holdovers from a rainy Day 2, but we decided to have another writer give their thoughts on all of them.
WTA Birmingham Day 3 Predictions
Emina Bektas vs Shuai Zhang
Head-to-head: First meeting
The hole gets deeper and deeper for Shuai Zhang. That’s now nine losses in a row dating back to Lyon in January. It would bring many fans joy to see her pick her form back up with a win.
That first win that breaks the streak will come but not here. Emina Bektas is the worst possible player Zhang could be playing with this level of confidence. The American has won 11 of her last 12 matches, all of which have been on grass. Bektas will not think twice about sweeping her ailing opponent off the court.
Prediction: Bektas in 2
Rebecca Marino vs Xiyu Wang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Rebecca Marino certainly has the serve to excel on grass. She can’t make every first serve, however, and her rally temperament isn’t superb. Get her to play over and over again and she should break down, particularly on her backhand wing.
Xiyu Wang should be pretty effective at finding the Canadian’s backhand repeatedly with her lefty strikes. She has a winning record against players over six feet, likely due to this returning trait. We like Wang’s chances of being able to move her opponent round the court at will.
Prediction: Wang in 3
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Tereza Martincova vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-head: Martincova 2-1 Tomova
Both Tereza Martincova and Viktoriya Tomova are in a similar boat here. Neither has an exceptional weapon and neither has had a particularly stellar season. It’s therefore difficult to back one player over the other.
We’ll side with Martincova by a whisker, however. She’s had some great runs on grass in the past and has proven she’s slightly more comfortable this week having come through qualifying without losing.
Prediction: Martincova in 3
Barbora Krejcikova vs Cristina Bucsa
Head-to-head: Bucsa 1-0 Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova may hold a head-scratching 6-7 record on grass but, this portion of the year comes and goes so quickly, it would be unfair to make any snap judgement. In isolation, the Czech showed she can play well on this surface in her loss to Ash Barty at Wimbledon in 2021. Her serve is perfect for it and she has the slice and transition game to make life uncomfortable for her opponents.
There’s maybe just a lack of power that gives some players an edge over her. Cristina Bucsa will put up a stern test but she won’t be able to overwhelm the former French Open champion. There’s a chance Krejcikova will get blown off the court at some point but we don’t think there are many players with the potential to do so until the final.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
