It’s been an exciting few days of WTA tennis in Birmingham with plenty of storylines brewing in the run up to Wimbledon. Can Venus Williams capitalize on a historic win at 43 years old over Camila Giorgi? Should Barbora Krejcikova be considered a threat at the third major of the year? All this and more as we try to predict the outcomes of the remaining round of 16 matches on day four in Birmingham.
Barbora Krejcikova vs Tereza Martincova
Head-to-head: 2-2
Barbara Krejcikova proved a few things that we predicted before her last match against Cristina Bucsa. Despite the Czech’s very average record on this surface, her game is actually well-suited to grass. Her serve in particular should give her a fair advantage in the shorter rallies against most opposition–powerful strikes are about the only style of play we can see flustering her.
Tereza Martincova just doesn’t have a big enough game to throw the former French Open champion off her rhythm. In our last prediction, we said there are no players that could bother Krejcikova before the final. Let’s see just how far she can go.
Prediction: Krejcikova in 2
Anastasia Potapova vs Caty McNally
Head-to-head: First meeting
There aren’t many games bigger than Anastasia Potapova’s from the back of the court. She’s definitely on her way into the top 20 but it feels as though the Russian is the biggest threat with time to set up her shots, making her most readily equipped for the clay. On grass, she remains a bit of a question mark. Her match against Marta Kostyuk was up and down, not dealing with the varying bounces and speeds particularly well.
Caty McNally probably has a chance here. She’s not the kind of player to hand the steering wheel to her opponent so might be able to throw Potapova for a loop. Early days in the Potapova grass season have us siding with McNally but look out for Potapova at Wimbledon if she can find her rhythm.
Prediction: McNally in 3
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Sorana Cirstea vs Magdalena Frech
Head-to-head: First meeting
For someone’s that been on tour as long as Sorana Cirstea, a losing record on grass (34-36) probably means she’s not overly comfortable on the surface. This probably stems from her serve which has always been her Achilles. She struggles to consistently find the court with an attacking first serve, leaving her scrapping on grass in spite of the fact she prefers to play her tennis on the front foot.
Magdalena Frech is probably warmed up enough at this tournament to take advantage. She’ll have no qualms extending the rallies as long as required and will likely be able to draw plenty of untidy service games from the Romanian if she can start solidly.
Prediction: Frech in 3
Jelena Ostapenko vs Venus Williams
Head-to-head: Williams 2-0 Ostapenko
Venus Williams has proven she has what it takes to remain competitive on her favorite surface. The win against Camila Giorgi was huge and more than proves she’s deserving of her Wimbledon wild-card. She could win a few matches at SW19, especially if she’s up against a fellow power-player that’ll allow her to assert herself in her service games.
Jelena Ostapenko is perhaps a step too far on the power scale, however. The Latvian controls her own fate against most opponents on most courts in the world–against an aging Venus Williams, on quick grass courts, the ball is going to be there for her to consistently dictate play, bar some of Williams’ blistering first serves. We think the legend has what it takes for a set but Ostapenko’s respectable grass court record should take precedence here.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
