Day 3 at WTA Sydney International 2019 will see the return from injury of World No.1 Simona Halep. Petra Kvitova, Sloane Stephens, and Australia’s 20-year-old Priscilla Hon will also be in action. A couple of matches are yet to be decided from the frist round due to rain, and will therefore be completed along with the other second round matches.
Garbine Muguruza has withdrawn from the tournament ahead of her second round clash with Kiki Bertens with a gastrointestinal illness. Therefore, the No. 7 seeded Dutchwoman moves on to the quarterfinals.
Here are my predictions of the best four matches from Day 3.
Ashleigh Barty vs Simona Halep
Simona Halep is starting her campaign without the services of coach Darren Cahill. She is also playing her first competitive tennis match in three months. During that span, Ashleigh Barty won the WTA Elite trophy at the tail end of last season, and impressed at the Hopman Cup last week losing only one Singles match. Halep leads 2-0 on head-to-head, with their recent meeting in Cincinnati being a close one. There is no pressure on Halep to perform especially after being out of action for so long, but this is a tough match against a home favorite. Barty could make this hard for herself, but she should beat Halep quite comfortably.
Prediction: Barty in 2
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Aliaksandra Sasnovich vs Priscilla Hon
It was no surprise to see Kasatkina lose again. I am not reading too much into that Sasnovich win. The Russian barely performs in Australia pretty much every year. This is an interesting matchup between Sasnovich and Priscilla Hon. The young Australian has knocked out some very tough opposition from the qualifiers to her first round match. However, the likes of Krunic, Birrell, and Tatjana Maria, all of whom Hon has beaten in Sydney, do not possess the big serve and forehand that Sasnovich can do damage with. I think Priscilla Hon will struggle to have any rhythm in the match.
Prediction: Sasnovich in 2
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Sloane Stephens vs Yulia Putintseva
I think this match will depend on which type of Sloane Stephens turns up. If the one that played the first set against Alexandrova shows up, then Yulia Putintseva will win this. The Kazakh also has the advantage of a day’s rest. Alexandrova had the match in her racket but wilted. The fightback by Stephens tells me she wants to do well in Sydney. That will be bad news for Putintseva.
Prediction: Stephens in 2
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Petra Kvitova vs Su-Wei Hsieh
Petra Kvitova is one match away from setting up a blockbuster quarterfinal against Angelique Kerber. But she has to do away with Su-Wei Hsieh, who is not afraid of spoiling the party. Hsieh though, struggles against players who hit with such authority from the back of the court. They have played once on hard court, and that was in 2016, with Czech winning comfortably in straight sets. Kvitova must have gained a lot of confidence from beating Sabalenka in the previous round. This will be a tough outing for Hsieh.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
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