It’s time for the first WTA 1000 of the season as the Qatar TotalEnergies Open kicks off its main draw action in Doha. Ashlyn Krueger was one of the most impressive performers of the qualifying competition and will now take on Paula Badosa. We at LWOT also have predictions for the other matches on day 1 in Doha, including Emma Navarro vs Jasmine Paolini and Veronika Kudermetova vs Danielle Collins. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Doha Day 1 Predictions
Caroline Dolehide vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-head: First meeting
Caroline Dolehide hasn’t followed up her Guadalajara runner-up finish, which came in some pretty unique conditions. The American is getting a lot of main tour experience, though, and probably should find some deep runs again with time. But it will be hard when she draws someone of Marta Kostyuk’s quality in the opening round. The Ukrainian started the year on a very high note and shouldn’t be too frightened of Dolehide in fairly slow hard court conditions.
Prediction: Kostyuk in 2
Varvara Gracheva vs Lin Zhu
Head-to-head: Zhu 1-0
The Lin Zhu late career surge isn’t exactly at its highest point at the moment, but it’s also not close to being over and she just showed it in Hua Hin a week ago. Varvara Gracheva was in god mode this time last year and it might be tough for her to stay inside the top 50 if she can’t turn it on soon. We haven’t seen it in a while though and Zhu has to be perceived as a slight favorite now, especially with all the confidence she picked up in Hua Hin.
Prediction: Zhu in 3
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Viktoriya Tomova
Head-to-head: Alexandrova 2-1
Ekaterina Alexandrova was recently in the Linz final and while she didn’t have too much to say there against Jelena Ostapenko, she should still like her chances to win at least one match here. The Russian can be wild off the ground with her powerful flat-hitting, but Viktoriya Tomova is not exactly an opponent who will be putting a lot of pressure on her. So ultimately, this should still be on Alexandrova’s racket and her level of execution.
Prediction: Alexandrova in 2
Ashlyn Krueger vs Paula Badosa
Head-to-head: First meeting
Ashlyn Krueger looked quite scary in her dismissal of Yue Yuan in the final qualifying round. The 19-year-old is still a developing player and it seems like a breakthrough of some sort might be coming soon. Paula Badosa has the quality to be at the very top again, but she just hasn’t been able to get her body right. Even a bit over a week ago, she had to retire in her second-round match in Hua Hin. Krueger is good enough to ask Badosa is she’s ready to compete at a 100% again.
Prediction: Krueger in 3
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
