The second day of the 2024 WTA Finals promises a lot of entertainment for the fans in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Two of this year’s Grand Slam champions will collide in the opening match. French Open champion Iga Swiatek will play Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. The second group-stage match will be an all-American clash between Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Who will get their first win?
WTA Finals Day 2 Predictions
Iga Swiatek vs Barbora Krejcikova
Head-to-head: Swiatek 2-2 Krejcikova
Iga Swiatek’s alliance with new coach Wim Fissette adds an interesting subplot to her title defense at this year’s season finale. Swiatek won this tournament for the first time 12 months ago without losing a match. She’ll most likely need to do the same to reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Aryna Sabalenka although the situation is not in her hands.
Barbora Krejcikova is the wild card entrant in this group and this competition. She finished outside the top eight places in the race but secured qualification by being a Grand Slam champion. Preparations for this tournament were far from ideal after sustaining a back injury while competing during the Asian swing. The Czech was only cleared by the doctors to return to training a few days before traveling to Riyadh. That said, she is unlikely to gain adequate match practice within such a short time to upset the defending champion.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Coco Gauff vs Jessica Pegula
Head-to-head: Gauff 1-4 Pegula
Jessica Pegula has dominated this matchup and won the pair’s clash at this stage of the competition 12 months ago in Cancun, Mexico. You get the feeling that it is becoming more of a mental barrier for the younger American. A couple of months ago, the score predictor would have favored Pegula, the WTA’s second-most in-form player on the North American hard courts. She reached three successive finals, including her first Grand Slam final at the US Open (she won the title in Toronto).
But the momentum quickly shifted when the Tour returned to Asia. Coco Gauff was near perfect, scoring nine wins from 10 matches (she won her second WTA 1000 in Beijing). Pegula’s form was almost unrecognizable as she bowed out before the quarterfinal stage in both Beijing and Wuhan. She looked drained of ideas particularly in that heavy loss to Paula Badosa at the China Open. Expect Gauff to sort out her dire record against her compatriot.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
