Two-time former champion Elina Svitolina aims to return to winning ways at the WTA Rome. Sixth seed Jasmine Paolini will attempt to advance beyond the second round in her home tournament for the first time. Who will progress? We have predictions for every day 3 match in Rome.
WTA Rome Day 3 Predictions
Danielle Collins vs Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Head-to-head: Collins 1-1 Ruse
Collins and Ruse have split their two previous meetings on clay, leaving this third match evenly poised. Collins was unsuccessful in her last two title defenses (Miami and Charleston) and suffered an immediate ranking slide. She hasn’t played since Charleston and missed Stuttgart and the Madrid Open in recent weeks. The positive news is that she is back, but the bad news is that another defeat would cost her a seeding spot at the French Open. Ruse, by contrast, is oozing confidence after backing up her two qualifying wins with a massive upset against Veronika Kudermetova in the main draw. Collins’ season has stalled, and Ruse might inflict more pain.
Prediction: Ruse in 3
Liudmila Samsonova vs Hailey Baptiste
Head-to-head: Samsonova 2-1 Baptiste
Samsonova is coming off a shocking defeat at the hands of Yulia Starodubtseva in Madrid. She led 6-2 3-1 and served to consolidate for a 4-2 lead at 40-15. But that game and the match slipped through her grasp. It’s a grim clay-court swing for the Russian, whose only notable win in two tournaments was beating Caroline Dolehide. Baptiste is playing with so much self-belief on her least favorite surface, and that has yielded four wins from five matches, including an opening round win over Anna Blikova. Samsonova is still the favorite to progress, but if she is unusually bereft of composure, this could be an upset alert.
Prediction: Samsonova in 3
Jasmine Paolini vs Lulu Sun
Head-to-head: first meeting
Sun survived a real scare in her opening match. She rallied from a set down to beat home wild card Georgia Padone. But the test couldn’t be any tougher than facing Italy’s top-ranked woman in front of a raucous crowd. Paolini won the doubles title last year, but her singles record in this tournament needs significant improvement. Expect her to take the first step to address that.
Prediction: Paolini in 2
Elina Svitolina vs Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
Head-to-head: Svitolina 2-0 Bouzas Maneiro
Svitolina lost her first match of this year’s clay swing to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid. The Ukrainian still owns an unrivalled 9-1 record on the surface this season and 11-1 when you include her two singles wins in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. Bouzas Maneiro was one of Svitolina’s victims during that 11-match winning run. The Spaniard is improving in every facet of her game, but still lacks match-tough intuition and composure. Her recent loss to Magdalena Frech (served for a straight sets win, but lost in three) offers a learning lesson. It should be smooth sailing for the two-time former champion.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images
