The dream of the Coco Gauff vs Elina Svitolina final is still alive at the WTA ASB Classic in Auckland as that’s definitely the line-up that would excite most tennis fans. But with two dangerous up-and-coming players facing them in the semifinals, can the top two seeds feel safe ahead of their Saturday matches? Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Auckland Semifinal Predictions
Xiyu Wang vs Elina Svitolina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Looks like we’ll be getting more of that aggressive Elina Svitolina from last year and especially against Emma Raducanu, the Ukrainian was constantly going after her forehand without much hesitation. This version of her game was also holding up nicely against more defensively-oriented players too, including in the wins over Marie Bouzkova and Caroline Wozniacki this week.
Xiyu Wang has that explosive lefty potential though and Svitolina will need to tap into her retrieving skills a bit more here. Of the two semifinals this is the one with a bigger chance for an upset, but the Chinese having played three marathons this week already might end up hurting her in the end.
Prediction: Svitolina in 3
Coco Gauff vs Emma Navarro
Head-to-head: First meeting
Emma Navarro is proving the doubters wrong this week and while her rise to World No. 31 might have caught some people off-guard with it mostly coming through high-level ITF events and WTA 125 series at the end of the season, she’s been showing that form this week. This is a big ask though with Coco Gauff being the defending champion and still yet to drop more than four games in a set in any match in Auckland across the past two editions.
This might be the moment where the stat falls apart as Navarro is more than capable of pushing her compatriot. But Gauff’s base game is so good and even with the wonky forehand, she does almost everything right on the tennis court and doesn’t really go below a certain level.
Prediction: Gauff in 2
Main Photo Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
