There is plenty of great tennis action in store on day 2 in Lausanne. The home crowd will be treated to many local players including the young talent Celine Naef who faces off against the #2 seed and top-ranked player in action Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Veteran Alize Cornet will also be a big draw as she tries to improve her form, and the up-and-coming American Emma Navarro will try to continue her strong play on clay in 2023. The action heats up with the remaining round-one matches, all of which are previewed here at Last Word on Tennis.
WTA Lausanne Day 2 Predictions
Celine Naef vs Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Head-to-head: first meeting
The teenage Naef is looking to thrill the home crowd after a strong grass court season. She faces a tough test in Cocciaretto who is returning to her best surface where she has a 9-4 record on the year including a 125k title in San Luis Potosi. Naef plays an aggressive game that helped her to good results on grass but will be somewhat neutralized on a clay court. Cocciaretto has had mixed results of late but has generally been able to win the matches where she is the significant favorite. Naef still has limited experience against players with Cocciaretto’s talent, and Cocciaretto will use her abilities to move and grind on the clay to control and win the match.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 2
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Emma Navarro vs Leolia Jeanjean
Head-to-head: 1-0 Navarro
This is a rematch from a hard court event earlier in the year won convincingly by Navarro 6-4 6-2. Navarro will be glad to be back on clay, where she has a 32-8 record across all levels this year with three titles. Navarro is looking to continue a strong run of form. Outside of a disappointing first-round loss at Wimbledon, her most recent results have been: QF, F, SF, F. While both finals were below tour-level (125k and ITF) she has still been able to compete and win against good players. Jeanjean mainly plays on ITF and in qualifying draws and has had trouble stringing together match wins this year, especially against quality opponents. Navarro will be too much for Jeanjean, as she won easily in their one other meeting and now has an even larger advantage with the surface in her favor.
Prediction: Navarro in 2
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Alize Cornet vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is an interesting matchup between two veterans trying to find their form in what has been a tough year. Cornet has had a tough year and made it past the second round in just two of the events she has played, though she has had moderate success in first-round matches. Golubic won just two qualifying matches on clay earlier in the year and has not had much main draw success though she has qualified for several events. Golubic has historically played best on faster courts and lost 6-1 6-1 in her most recent match on clay. Cornet historically has been good on all courts, but this season has been poor on hard and had moderate success on the clay. Cornet’s style and ability to frustrate opponents from the baseline lines up well against Golubic on clay. Cornet is not sharp either so it will be close but she will pull it out in the end.
Prediction: Cornet in 3
