The opening round of the WTA Qatar Total Open 2019 was littered with late withdrawals from Caroline Garcia and Caroline Wozniacki, and a surprise defeat for the 7th seed Anastasija Sevastova, who fell in straight sets to World No.95 Anna Blinkova.
The second round will feature the top four seeds in the tournament and there is plenty to play for particularly for Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova, both of whom have a chance to claim second spot in the rankings.
WTA Qatar Total Open Day 3 Predictions
Elina Svitolina vs Jelena Ostapenko
Head-to-head: Svitolina 0-2 Ostapenko
Last meeting: 2018 Miami Open (Ostapenko won 7-6 7-6)
Elina Svitolina’s off-court life has been of great interest in 2019 and she will need to put that to the side when she takes to the court in Doha. Since losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, the Ukrainian took an extended break and had no plans to play in Qatar before receiving a late wild card. Jelena Ostapenko will look to inflict another loss to Svitolina, but quite honestly, the Latvian has been a huge disappointment for the last six months. Prior to her win over Buzarnescu, the former French Open champion had won only one singles match on WTA tour this year, and that was against Kristina Mladenovic in St. Petersburg.
The conditions could favor Ostapenko in this match partly due to high winds. There were moments in the afternoon match between Jabeur and Suarez Navarro when it felt like they were having a practice session, with both players unwilling to commit and take the ball on the rise with one punch. That is exactly what the Latvian does well. Ostapenko’s positive head-to-head record against Svitolina could be significant with the World No.22 looking for back-to-back wins on tour for the first time since US Open 2018.
Prediction: Ostapenko in 3
Elise Mertens vs Karolina Pliskova
Head-to-head: First meeting
Karolina Pliskova lost an epic Fed Cup singles rubber against Simona Halep last weekend and she will hope to get one over the Romanian by winning the title this week and move into second spot in the rankings. However, she will play Belgian Elise Mertens, who has made her case with some impressive displays during the first half of the season pretty much every year.
Mertens has taken out one Czech already in Doha when she beat Katerina Siniakova in straight sets. With the likes of Garcia withdrawing from the tournament and Sevastova suffering an early defeat, it feels like the Fed Cup participation has taken toll on some players who were involved last weekend. However, Mertens showed no signs of fatigue in her opening round match while Plsikova will be relieved to have received an extra day’s rest. It is hard to look past the Czech former World No.1 here. If she comes out of the blocks serving lights out there is no way Mertens can compete.
Prediction: Pliskova to win in 2
Anett Kontaveit vs Angelique Kerber
Head-to-head: Kontaveit 2-0 Kerber
Last meeting: 2018 Stuttgart (Kontaveit won 6-0 2-0 Ret.)
Angelique Kerber has been handed an incredibly difficult draw this week, starting with her first match against hard hitting Anett Kontaveit. The German has surprisingly lost both her two meetings against the Estonian (the second ending in retirement). Both these players are coming to terms with their recent early exits in Melbourne. There is something about Anett Kontaveit’s game that makes her a very awkward opponent for Kerber. That is her aggressive baseline game from the back of the court. She has a very powerful forehand, reminiscent of Ostapenko, and her backhand can be lethal. Kerber usually would be excited about the prospect of trading blows in a rally but the Estonian likes to take risks. Excluding the Hopman Cup, this has been a very poor start to the year by Kerber, and Kontaveit has real opportunity to pounce on that.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 2
Simona Halep vs Lesia Tsurenko
Head-to-head: First meeting
Simona Halep may have lost the No. 1 ranking but she has an opportunity to knock off Petra Kvitova from second spot. The Romanian will need to beat Tsurenko to advance to the quarterfinals to guarantee a return to No.2, as long as Karolina Pliskova fails to win the Qatar Open. Halep’s first meeting against the unpredictable Tsurenko will be a testing task, but following her recent heroics in the Fed Cup, there is only one winner here.
Prediciton: Halep in 2
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