There have been several upsets so far at the WTA Jiangxi Open. The top two seeds Beatriz Haddad Maia and Magda Linette both lost in their respective first-round clashes. However, there are still many great players left in the draw. This includes former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, whose match is one of four predicted in this article. But who do you think will progress to the quarterfinals in Jiangxi?
WTA Jiangxi Day 4 Predictions
Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Valeria Savinykh
Head-to-head: First meeting
Savinykh’s season has been one of the most underrated comeback stories of the year. She’s reached her highest number of ITF finals in a season at the age of 32 to rise sharply in the rankings, and showed her progress to defeat the second seed at the WTA Jiangxi Open Magda Linette. Sasnovich won her first-round comfortably and looked comfortable in the conditions. Overall though, Savinykh gets the edge here. I feel the momentum from her progress in 2023 could guide the Russian to another great win here. Expect it to be a tight battle though.
Prediction: Savinykh in 3
Laura Siegemund vs Ulrikke Eikeri
Head-to-head: First meeting
Eikeri is ranked outside the Top 600. Yet a retirement through injury from Kaja Juvan allowed her to claim a rare main draw WTA tournament win. Siegemund is playing some of the best tennis of her career, and played excellently to defeat Xinyu Wang in the first-round. The German prefers to play against players who hit with pace and she thrived against the flat-hitting of Wang. Eikeri’s style is certainly different Siegemund’s previous opponent. Nonetheless, Eikeri’s ranking shows that Siegemund should win if she is near her best. The fast conditions in Jiangxi suit the 35-year-old and she is very likely to reach the quarterfinal at the WTA Jiangxi Open.
Prediction: SIegemund in 2
Katerina Siniakova vs Varvara Gracheva
Head-to-head: Siniakova 1-0 Gracheva
Gracheva deserves a lot of credit for her first-round victory against Kamilla Rakhimova. The Frenchwoman’s results in recent months have been mostly poor and she also lost to Rakhimova last week. Gracheva could have allowed her season to peter out but she did not allow that to happen. Siniakova showed the form that took her to the final in Hong Kong in her first-round match. However, this may be a dangerous matchup for the Czech. Gracheva seemed to be swinging more freely in her first-round match and that helped her performance immensely. Overall, Siniakova’s style suits the conditions at the WTA Jiangxi Open and she remains a slight favourite. But a Gracheva win would not be a major surprise either.
Prediction: Siniakova in 3
Leylah Fernandez vs You Xiaodi
World no.233 Xiaodi’s first-round against Anna Blinkova was extraordinary. She dropped just two games on her way to defeating the fifth seed. Upsets towards the end of the season are a regular occurrence but the manner of the Chinese player’s triumph was still a major surprise. Can she manage another upset against Fernandez? It would be an even bigger shock if it happened. The Canadian is playing sublime tennis right now. She won the title last week in Hong Kong with a wonderful brand of attacking tennis. Fernandez’s first-round contest was just two days after her title triumph but she showed no signs of slowing down. Expect her to continue the momentum she has built at the WTA Jiangxi Open.
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
