Only four women remain at the WTA Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. For Iga Swiatek, the quest for a three-peat is on, but she faces her biggest hurdle so far against fourth seed Elena Rybakina, who owns a winning record in their series. The other semifinal pits third seed in-form Marta Kostyuk up against Czech lefty Marketa Vondrousova. Who will reach the championship match in Stuttgart?
WTA Stuttgart Semifinal Predictions
Marta Kostyuk vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: Vondrousova 1-0 Kostyuk
Marta Kostyuk scored the biggest win of her career by beating Coco Gauff in a wild match. A day after saving five match points against Qinwen Zheng, it was the Ukrainian who was running out of match points to seal the win against the third seed. It took eight tries before Gauff dumped her final forehand into the net after two hours and 50 minutes.
Marketa Vondrousova, meanwhile, survived her own rollercoaster as she came back from a set down to knock out second seed Aryna Sabalenka. The Czech thrives on a slower clay court. Stuttgart doesn’t quite have that profile, considering it is an indoor clay, but the conditions play to Vondoruosa’s liking. Testament to this, she’s beaten three high-caliber opponents to reach this stage. Kostyuk hadn’t played for a month because of injury but she has an abundance of mileage already in her legs after playing another marathon match. It’s doubtful she’ll have enough in the tank to combat the versatile Vondrousova.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 2
Iga Swiatek vs Elena Rybakina
Head-to-head: Swiatek 2-3 Rybakina
Rybakina served another error-strewn performance but escaped with a hard-fought three-set win over Jasmine Paolini. The Kazakh appeared to have the match firmly under control when she led by a set and a break, only to cede that momentum. But down the stretch, she had enough bite behind the serve to eke out a gutsy win.
Swiatek’s quartefinal encounter against Emma Raducanu was billed as the box-office match in Stuttgart, and it delivered. Despite the comparative huge gulf in rankings and pedigree on clay, the British tennis sensation played out of her skin. It’s rare for the Pole to commit a grand total of 19 unforced errors on clay. But such is Raducanu’s talent and ability to lift her game when the stakes were so high. Ultimately, Swiatek eased her aside to preserve her unblemished record at the Porsche Arena.
The top seed improved to a 65-9 lifetime record on clay. She is now 10-0 in Stuttgart. Her trademark consistency on the surface and at this tournament has not waned. It is tough for Rybakina to defy these numbers. Additionally, the fourth seed has been error-prone this week. Against Swiatek, she will likely pay a hefty price.
Prediction: Swiatek in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane USAToday
