It’s time for the semifinals of the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. Three last eight matches were finished on Friday, while Fanny Stollar and Kateryna Baindl had to return to the court on the next day due to bad weather. But, the final four stage is finally set. Who do you think will advance?
WTA Budapest Semifinal Predictions
Nadia Podoroska vs Maria Timofeeva
Head-to-head: First meeting
Maria Timofeeva has been the story of the week so far, turning a lucky loser opportunity into by far the best week of her career so far. The 19-year-old has been taking out established players such as Daria Saville, Diana Shnaider, and Kaja Juvan. Now she gets to face yet another tough opponent in her first-ever WTA Tour main draw appearance.
Nadia Podoroska’s clay pedigree is undeniable with the Roland Garros semifinals three years ago, and the Argentinian is slowly getting back to where she was. Her performances against Anna Siskova and Elina Avanesyan in the past two rounds were just incredible with a perfect mix of power/placement and high tennis IQ exhibited.
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We all know tennis doesn’t work like that, but it’s interesting that both women have already played the aforementioned Siskova this week. Podoroska only dropped three games, while Timofeeva lost in the deciding set tie-break. This sport is all about matchups though and that doesn’t guarantee anything. The Russian youngster has been able to dictate in most of her matches so far. However, a player like Podoroska has a better chance of staying in control of the rallies against her. If she can deliver something along the lines of her last two performances, she should come through here.
Prediction: Podoroska in 2
Claire Liu vs Kateryna Baindl
Head-to-head: First meeting
Claire Liu earned just two wins in six events during the “regular” clay season, but the post-Wimbledon swing is already looking much better for her. As it should be since the American owns a fantastic record on the surface. She’s been excellent in Budapest so far, taking out three dangerous opponents in straight sets (Louisa Chirico, Yulia Putintseva, Anna Karolina Schmiedlova).
It’s a huge run for Kateryna Baindl as well with her best tournament result this season so far being a WTA 125K quarterfinal in Makarska. The Ukrainian took out three local players in a row to get here and had to beat Fanny Stollar just a few hours before her match against Liu is due to begin. It was pretty long for a two-setter and with Baindl being a rather sizeable underdog even without that disadvantage, it’s just much harder to see her winning this one now. Prediction: Liu in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
