The final of the WTA Budapest Grand Prix has been reached after a great week of tennis. The No. 1 seed Diana Shnaider is set to play in her third final of 2024, while Sasnovich will be competing in her first of the season after a shock run to the final in Budapest. As always, we at LWOT give our prediction and analysis for the final. But which player do you think will reign supreme in Hungary?
WTA Budapest Final Prediction
Diana Shnaider vs Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Head-to-Head: Shnaider 1-0 Sasnovich
After a tough three-set battle against Fanny Stollar in the opening round, Shnaider showed why she is the top seed in the following three rounds by comfortably defeating Ekaterina Makarova, Ella Seidel and Eva Lys. Sasnovich’s route to the final has been tougher. Her only straight-sets win was against last year’s champion, Maria Timofeeva, in the round of 16. Her three-set triumphs against Vikotoriya Tomova, Suzan Lamens and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova were long and tough matches.
Sasnovich will need to absorb a lot of pressure to have a chance of prevailing here. The Belarusian bases her game on grit and getting balls back into the court. By contrast, Shnaider is one of the most powerful young players in the women’s game. The consistency she manages in the rallies despite hitting the ball so hard is very impressive.
Although Sasnovich is a fighter who deserves a lot of credit for her run at WTA Budapest, Shnaider is a major favourite to win her third title of the season. Sasnovich will give her time to place her shots precisely, which will leave the 30-year-old running from side to side throughout the match. Shnaider will need to make a lot more unforced errors than usual to fall in the final. Unfortunately for Sasnovich, that seems unlikely after the form Shnaider has shown in the last three rounds.
Prediction: Shnaider in 2
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea – USA TODAY Sports
