It promises to be an entertaining second day at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships with a host of star names in action. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Elina Svitolina vs Anhelina Kalinina and Daria Kasatkina vs Lucia Bronzetti. But who will advance in the desert?
WTA Dubai Day 2 Predictions
Viktoriya Tomova vs Liudmila Samsonova
Head-to-head: Tomova 1-1 Samsonova
This year is the perfect example of how unpredictable Liudmila Samsonova is. Four opening-round losses and the one time she made it through her first match, she actually made it all the way to the semifinals. The Dubai courts should be to her liking and last year she was expected to be a decent threat to Iga Swiatek here, but ended up winning just one game. This is a matchup that’s entirely on her racket, which doesn’t mean she is guaranteed to take it.
Prediction: Samsonova in 2
Petra Martic vs Caroline Dolehide
Head-to-head: first meeting
Caroline Dolehide hasn’t pushed on after her phenomenal run in Guadalajara, but at some point she should start picking up wins at least occasionally. The Dubai courts aren’t a bad place for her to start, it’s just a question of whether Petra Martic (and the draw in general) might not be of too much quality. One problem might be that the Croatian can almost match her on serve and at the same time has such a wide repertoire when it comes to her baseline game.
Prediction: Martic in 2
Leylah Fernandez vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-head: Fernandez 1-0 Pera
Leylah Fernandez has been on an upswing the last six months or so, although losing early at the Australian Open was a bit of a hit. The Canadian is coming off a very nice run in Doha though, scoring three wins over very dangerous opponents. This is a bit of a different matchup with an opponent who isn’t as reliant on power-hitting as the rivals Fernandez took down last week, but then again taking the lefty advantage away from Pera might matter a lot more than taking it away from the Canadian.
Prediction: Fernadez in 2
Karolina Pliskova vs Zhang Shuai
Head-to-head: Pliskova 8-0 Shuai
This is a famous head-to-head and it doesn’t seem like the first win will come in Dubai. Karolina Pliskova ended up withdrawing ahead of her semifinal clash against Iga Swiatek in Doha, but as long as that was just a precaution, she should be able to take down Zhang Shuai again. The Chinese hasn’t played since August and actually still hasn’t snapped her 16-match losing streak, while Pliskova was back to her scary best the past two weeks in Cluj and Doha.
Prediction: Pliskova in 2
Main photo credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
