Fourth seed Sara Sorribes Tormo pushed through Gergana Topalova in the opening round at the WTA Budapest Grand Prix, but it wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence. She needs to up her game quickly with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova awaiting her on Wednesday. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Budapest Day 3 Predictions
Maria Timofeeva vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Head-to-head: First meeting
Maria Timofeeva winning Budapest as a lucky loser last year was such a massive surprise and the Russian hasn’t fully backed that up. Despite another big run at the Australian Open, she’s currently sitting only on the verge of the Top 100 in the WTA Rankings and can drop a lot of points if she loses early. Aliaksandra Sasnovich has fallen off a lot the last couple of seasons, but her quality remains undeniable. Even if she doesn’t tap into it that often right now, she might be a deadly draw for Timofeeva here.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
Suzan Lamens vs Carole Monnet
Head-to-head: Monnet 1-0
Carole Monnet only gave Suzan Lamens one game when they played a couple of years back, but it’s the career of the Dutchwoman that has been trending upwards recently. Particularly in April when she had some incredible Billie Jean King Cup performances in Portugal and went on to win a stacked ITF event at the same venue. While Monnet has already dispatched three opponents in straight sets this week, Lamens was just as good (if not better) in her dismissal of Varvara Gracheva.
Prediction: Lamens in 2
Elina Avanesyan vs Rebeka Masarova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Rebeka Masarova had that breakthrough campaign in 2023, but she seems back to her usual stuff right now. It’s a shame as it seems like the Spaniard could have stuck around the top echelon of the sport for a bit longer. Meanwhile, Elina Avanesyan has actually defended her French Open points and remains a nightmare to play against on clay. She’ll come at Masarova with all the variety of spins and heights that she has to offer and should be able to get the errors out of her opponent.
Prediction: Avanesyan in 2
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Head-to-head: Sorribes Tormo 3-0
Sara Sorribes Tormo used to find herself pretty comfortable in this matchup, but it’s been three years since they last played each other. The Spaniard was recently on a small losing streak and looks to regain her confidence back on her favorite surface. The opener against Gergana Topalova was messy at best and Sorribes Tormo will have to raise her game to keep going in this event. As Anna Karolina Schmiedlova doesn’t have that sort of overwhelming power to hit her off the court, maybe this is a good opportunity for the fourth seed.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
