The quarterfinals lineup of the WTA Rothesay International in Eastbourne is as good as it gets. The defending champion, local interests, and other great players will battle it out to reach the semifinals. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate. But who will advance?
WTA Eastbourne Quarterfinal Predictions
Harriet Dart vs Leylah Fernandez
Head-to-Head: Dart 1-0 Fernandez
Harriet Dart is playing the full grass swing and that is coming in handy as she has lots of matches under her belt despite not reaching further before in a tournament leading up to this week. She played a brilliant third set against Sofia Kenin in the second round to reach the Rothesay International quarterfinals for the second time. Leylah Fernandez is back in fine form as she finds herself in back-to-back quarterfinals. She had no problems in dismantling Ashlyn Krueger in her last match and will back herself to beat Dart and reach her first semifinal of the season.
Prediction: Fernandez in 3
Madison Keys vs Karolina Muchova
Head-to-Head: Keys 1-0 Muchova
This is the first grass event of the year for Madison Keys and she did well to fend off quite a few break points and got over the line against Anhelina Kalinina. Keys has a strong game on grass and is the defending champion here in Eastbourne. She will look to get another title on grass and be a contender at Wimbledon. It’s so good to see Karolina Muchova back and playing well after a long gap. She played a superb match, hitting some tricky shots to defeat Magda Linette. She is an entertainer and has excellent variety in her game, which should come in handy against Keys. Muchova can trouble anyone on her day but a strong and in-form player like Keys may have arrived too soon in her comeback.
Prediction: Keys in 3
Katie Boulter vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-Head: Boulter 1-1 Paolini
Katie Boulter is having an excellent season so far with two titles and she can win one more this week the way she has been playing lately. She displayed phenomenal tennis to beat the dangerous Jelena Ostapenko and has established herself as a threat for many in the looming Wimbledon Championships. Jasmine Paolini did not have to play the full match in her first match on grass this season as her opponent, Elise Mertens retired due to injury. This goes down as Paolini’s first main draw win on grass. She is having a great season but on grass, but I would give the edge to Boulter.
Prediction: Boulter in 2
Daria Kasatkina vs Emma Raducanu
Head-to-Head: Kasatkina 1-0 Raducanu
Last year’s Rothesay International finalist, Daria Kasatkina was struggling in the opening set of her second-round match against Yue Yuan but played well once she found her serve and forehand and cruised in the third set. Emma Raducanu got her first top 1o win as she defeated Jessica Pegula who is coming off of a title in Berlin last week. Raducanu is well outside the top 100 but the way she has been playing recently, it will be a matter of time before she enters the top 100 and more. If she plays like she has been doing lately then it will be very hard for Kasatkina to hurt her in this match-up. This match can go either way, but Raducanu’s confidence will be sky high and that can do wonders for a player.
Prediction: Raducanu in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
