Saturday at the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati will feature both semifinals, with the top 2 players in the world Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka taking on the last two Roland Garros finalists in Coca Gauff and Karolina Muchova. Most people are expecting a final Sunday showdown between Swiatek and Sabalenka but neither will have it easy in the semifinals.
WTA Cincinnati Semifinal Predictions
Karolina Muchova vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-head: Muchova 1-1 Sabalenka
This will be a rematch of the Roland Garros semfinal. Muchova prevailed against all odds in an intense 3h17m battle after being 2-5 down in the deciding set and saving match points. Sabalenka will surely be eager for revenge. In addition, is eager to win a big title to gain some confidence ahead of the US Open. After losing a Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, the time for victory has come. She’s overall the superior player and on a hard court. In addition, she should be able to overpower Muchova and reach the final.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff
Head-to-head: Swiatek 7-0 Gauff
The second of our WTA Cincinnati semifinal predictions is poised to be a good match. This has been an extremely lopsided matchup. Not only has Gauff lost every single match in straight sets, she’s only won 35 games in 14 sets. This is an average of 2.5 games per set. It includes several bagels too. So far, Gauff hasn’t managed to do absolutely anything to trouble the world #1. Furthermore, it is clearly the main reason why she’s yet to win a Grand Slam or WTA 1000 title. Gauff is still 19 years old so she still has a lot of time to change things, but it does feel like with every crushing defeat to Swiatek her mental scars in this matchup increase. It’d be a sentimental moment in Gauff’s career to finally get a win over Iga Swiatek. She will surely do everything in her power to achieve it, but based on what we’ve seen from this matchup to date it’s very hard to bet against the Pole.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Main Photo: Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
