Friday at the WTA event in Budapest will see all four quarterfinal matches being played and it should be a day full of unpredictability, with no clear title favorite at this point. Although there are no top ranked players in Budapest this week, the level of play has been quite good and there have been a lot of tight and exciting matches, a trend that should continue this Friday.
WTA Budapest Day 5 Predictions
Suzan Lamens vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is a very tight matchup between two players separated by only three ranking spots and who have a very rare opportunity to reach a semifinal at this level. Sasnovich has been playing particularly well this week, even beating the #2 seed Tomova in the first round, so she should theoretically have a slight edge. It should, nevertheless, be an extremely close match.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 3
Rebecca Sramkova vs Eva Lys
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is yet another very even matchup between two players outside the top 100 looking to reach a rare semifinal at this level. Both players have been playing at a very good level this week, with Sramkova getting the best scalp of the two so far with her victory over the #3 seed Wang. This is another match that should go down to the wire and be decided by a few key points here and there.
Prediction: Sramkova in 3
Diana Shnaider vs Ella Seidel
Head-to-head: first meeting
#28 Shnaider is by far the highest ranked player left in the draw and thus the favorite to win this tournament. The young American has been steadily rising up the rankings, had a nice grass season where she even won a title and should be able to reach the semis here, especially since she’s facing a qualifier in the quaterfinals.
Prediction: Shnaider in 2
Elina Avanesyan vs Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
Head-to-head: Schmiedlova 1-0 Avanesyan
On paper, this is an extremely tight matchup, between two players separated by only four ranking spots. Both have had to win very tough battles to reach this stage of the tournament and will surely be feeling confident and motivated by the chance of reaching a rare semifinal at WTA level. It should be a three-setter decided by the smallest of details.
Prediction: Schmiedlova in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
