Iga Swiatek won the 2022 and 2023 editions of the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and will now attempt to keep up her perfect record in Stuttgart. Her first opponent will be Elise Mertens, who took down Tatjana Maria in the opening round. Who do you think will come out on top?
WTA Stuttgart Day 4 Predictions
Marketa Vondrousova vs Anastasia Potapova
Head-to-head: Vondrousova 3-1
Wimbledon is coming and that’s not good news for Marketa Vondrousova, whose title in London from last year is currently over 50% of her ranking points. However, the Czech actually didn’t perform that well on her favorite clay in the 2023 season and there might be opportunities to gain something here. Anastasia Potapova’s progress seems to have stalled a fair bit, but this venue brings out some of her best tennis. The semifinalist from last year has the talent to pick up this win and will force Vondrousova to be really sharp.
Prediction: Potapova in 3
Qinwen Zheng vs Marta Kostyuk
Head-to-head: Zheng 1-0
Marta Kostyuk was one of these players always on the verge of a breakthrough result and maybe that came with the Indian Wells semifinal run. This is her first appearance since and while she had some great patches against former champion Laura Siegemund, a three-hour battle might hurt her chances on the next day. Especially as a slicker clay-court is a profile that Qinwen Zheng very much enjoys. The Chinese has cooled off a bit since the Australian Open, but she deserves to be the slight favorite here.
Prediction: Zheng in 3
Iga Swiatek vs Elise Mertens
Head-to-head: First meeting
Iga Swiatek is a perfect 8-0 in Stuttgart with back-to-back titles the last two editions. Some big hitters might be able to trouble her here in the future with the indoor clay venue being rather on the faster and slicker side. We saw that with Liudmila Samsonova in 2022 and to an extent with Karolina Pliskova last year. But on the other hand, the Pole easily defeated Aryna Sabalenka in both finals. Anyway, Elise Mertens is still her solid self but just doesn’t have that sort of caliber on her shots. Seems like a nice opener for Swiatek.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane USAToday
