After a rain-interrupted first day of action, the weather looks good for Day 2 at the WTA National Bank Open in Toronto. There are lots of exciting matches to look forward to including local interest Leylah Fernandez taking on Shuai Zhang. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 2. But who will advance to the second-round?
WTA Toronto Day 2 Predictions
Elise Mertens vs Katie Volynets
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Elise Mertens has lost her last two matches to Emma Raducanu and would be pleased that she is not in the draw this week. Mertens has been inconsistent in the last few months and will look to change that on her favorite surface. Volynets is making her first appearance at the National Bank Open and impressed in the second round of qualifying. Mertens isn’t playing her best tennis anymore, but she can’t be underestimated on these courts. It should be a close match and I am backing the experience of Mertens.
Prediction: Mertens in 3
Katie Boulter vs Bernarda Pera
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Katie Boulter is enjoying her best season on tour and already has a title on this surface. She lost in the first round at the Paris Olympics but that doesn’t come as a surprise as she has never won a match on clay. Boulter will look to push for the top 20 in this hard-court swing. Bernarda Pera lost the opening set in both her qualifying matches but won in the end. Pera has struggled with her form this year, winning only two tour-level matches on hard courts. Pera did well to make it out of the qualifying but beating Boulter is a much difficult task.
Prediction: Boulter in 2
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs Marie Bouzkova
Head-to-Head: Haddad Maia 3-0 Bouzkova
Beatriz Haddad Maia has lost six of her last 10 matches and hasn’t been able to make a deep run in tournaments. Her record on hard courts is not great either. However, she is capable of playing some quality tennis on this surface which she showed last year in Zhuhai. Marie Bouzkova had a fantastic week in Washington, she was one set away from winning her biggest title. These two have played close matches whenever they have met, with Haddad Maia winning every time. Keeping form in mind, I have Bouzkova to get her first win over the Brazilian.
Prediction: Bouzkova in 3
Leylah Fernandez vs Shuai Zhang
Head-to-Head: Fernandez 1-0 Zhang
Leylah Fernandez has been in good form in the last couple of months. She couldn’t have asked for a better first-round match on her home soil. Shuai Zhang is on a 21-match losing streak and hasn’t won a match in over a year. She is at the lowest point of her career and I can’t see her turning things around against Fernandez. A straight-set win for the Canadian is the most likely outcome.
Prediction: Fernandez in 2
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
