The grass court season continues this week in Berlin with a very strong field featuring the top 2 players in the world in Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. Day 2 will surely feature some fantastic grass court tennis, with several interesting matchups that should be very close and decided by very slight margins, as often happens on grass.
WTA Berlin Day 2 Predictions
Linda Noskova vs Renata Zarazua
Head-to-head: first meeting
Noskova had a disappointing first round exit at the French Open and will be looking to make amends during this grass court season. Zarazua played some nice tennis in qualfying to reach the main draw, but Noskova will be a significant step up in level and she is unlikely to have enough weapons to seriously challenge her here.
Prediction: Noskova in 2
Shuai Zhang vs Karolina Muchova
Head-to-head: Muchova 2-0 Zhang
Both of their previous confrontations happened a long time ago (2021 and 2020), so they are hardly relevant here. That said, even if Zhang has been playing well on grass at Queen’s last week and qualifying here, Muchova is clearly the better and more consistent player of the two and she should have the edge here even if Zhang has the potential to cause her some issues.
Prediction: Muchova in 3
Suzan Lamens vs Paula Badosa
Head-to-head: first meeting
Badosa is very far from her best and has been struggling with injuries lately, so this is a very difficult match to call. Lamens showed a very solid level in qualifying and definitely has an excellent chance to win here. It should be a very close match, decided by execution on the biggest points.
Prediction: Lamens in 3
Madison Keys vs Xinyu Wang
Head-to-head: Keys 3-0 Wang
Keys is far from the level that took her to glory at the Australian Open last year, but she has a very kind matchup here against an opponent she has never lost a set against. While she is unlucky to make a deep run at Wimbledon, she should at least win a couple of matches this week and start gaining some momentum back.
Prediction: Keys in 2
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
