Wednesday, Day 3 at the 2024 WTA ASB Classic in Auckland will feature four second-round singles matches. Plenty of exciting storylines ahead with the all-Chinese battle of Xiyu and Xinyu Wang, Emma Navarro trying to utilize her confidence from the last two months of the previous season, Amanda Anisimova playing her first event since April. Who do you think will make the quarterfinals?
WTA Auckland Day 3 Predictions
Xinyu Wang vs Xiyu Wang
Head-to-head: 1-1
What a legendary matchup between the two similarly-named Chinese youngsters, both born in 2001. If it wasn’t for the fact that one’s a right-hander and the other’s a lefty, everyone would be confusing them even more than they do at the moment. The favorite? Probably Xinyu Wang, who has presented a bit more staying power at the top so far and can control her game a touch better, despite lacking the main tour title that Xiyu picked up in Guangzhou last year.
Prediction: Xinyu Wang in 3
Emma Navarro vs Elina Avanesyan
Head-to-head: First meeting
Emma Navarro is up to World No. 31 in the WTA Rankings, which might be a little surprising to those who weren’t following the ITF Tour after the main circuit was done last year. You could argue that the American is yet to pull it off on the big stage, but she’s had flashes and some of these draws were extremely stacked. Playing Elina Avanesyan on a hard court should be a decent draw for her, especially if she can patiently construct points and emerge on top despite her opponent’s variety of spins and angles.
Prediction: Navarro in 2
Diane Parry vs Lesia Tsurenko
Head-to-head: First meeting
Lesia Tsurenko had a quiet but extremely solid campaign in 2023, getting her back in the vicinity of her career-high ranking. The 34-year-old was feeling the intensity of that patch on many occasions, which resulted in several withdrawals and retirements. Now that she’s back after the off-season, can she just keep going? For now she’ll be a slight favorite over Diane Parry, who still can’t quite lock up that breakthrough result after her phenomenal junior success.
Prediction: Tsurenko in 3
Marie Bouzkova vs Amanda Anisimova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Amanda Anisimova has had a unique stop-start career path so far, but the talent is still there and she’s got plenty of time to salvage this. After playing just 11 matches in 2023 (3-8 record), she’s supposed to be back for good and kicked off her campaign with a solid win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Marie Bouzkova is a bit of a step up, but she’s also the type of player who often struggles to respond if there’s a lot of fire coming from the other side of the net. Anisimova on a good day can overwhelm her opponents like that.
Prediction: Anisimova in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
