Katerina Siniakova has been very successful at the WTA event in Prague over the years, making the semifinals in 2015 and the quarterfinals in 2017-19 and 2021. The Czech is seeded second in the 2024 edition and will kick off her campaign with a second head-to-head meeting against Louisa Chirico. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between two other articles. One features Magda Linette vs Mona Barthel while the other highlights Linda Noskova vs Katarina Zavatska. Who do you think will prevail?
WTA Prague Day 2 Predictions
Barbora Palicova vs Oksana Selekhmeteva
Head-to-head: First meeting
This should be an exciting clash of two talented youngsters. Barbora Palicova is a lot more mercurial and pretty much wasted her 2023 season, but has recently found some form again. Particularly in June, she showed her deadly potential again when she won ITF events in Otocec and Gdansk back-to-back. Oksana Selekhmeteva is on a similar run right now though, making the final in Montpellier and winning Rome. She’s a lot more solid but will need to be wary of Palicova’s powerful game.
Prediction: Selekhmeteva in 3
Zeynep Sonmez vs Dominika Salkova
Head-to-head: First meeting
This should be fun between two youngsters currently sitting at their career-high rankings. Zeynep Sonmez has earned herself plenty of chances to grab main tour experiences lately, while Dominika Salkova has been rising through ITF runs besides the Slam qualifying appearances. The Czech won a stacked ITF in Prague in May, but that event was held at a different venue. Sonmez doesn’t have the most imposing game, so maybe it’s a good chance for the Czech youngster to play with a “go big or go home” attitude and potentially succeed.
Prediction: Salkova in 3
Anastasiia Soboleva vs Eva Lys
Head-to-head: First meeting
20-year-old Anastasiia Soboleva earned her right to a second main tour appearance with three-set wins over Lucie Safarova and Jesika Maleckova in the qualifying. She did pretty okay in Cluj-Napoca last year, taking a set off Anna Bondar. Eva Lys would usually be in her range, but it might be a bit tougher now given the German’s form. Not only did she qualify for Roland Garros and Wimbledon, she’s also coming off a Budapest semifinal run and should be oozing confidence at the moment.
Prediction: Lys in 2
Katerina Siniakova vs Louisa Chirico
Head-to-head: Siniakova 1-0
Louisa Chirico is pretty far from the level that once saw her come close to making the Top 50, but she’s still there working hard to get back to where she was. She recently impressed with the semifinal run in Bastad and also looked really solid in the qualifying here. In terms of match rhythm on clay, she’ll clearly have a lot more of it than Katerina Siniakova. But realistically, it seems that the quality gap between her and the second seed might just be a bit too huge.
Prediction: Siniakova in 2
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