Day 5 here at the Washington Open (Citi Open for sponsorship reasons) will see a total of eight top players battling it out for a place in the semifinals. It should be a fascinating quarterfinal as arguably all the players left have a good chance of winning the title at the end of the week and none of the quarterfinalists here is yet to win a WTA Tour title this year.
WTA Washington Open Quarterfinal Predictions
Kristina Mladenovic vs Anna Kalinskaya
Head-to-head: Mladenovic leads 2-0
Both players have been playing extremely well all week to reach the quarterfinal stage here. For Kalinskaya, even though she is a qualifier, she is not to be underestimated. The 20-year-old Russian has already won five matches in a row here, so she will be full of confidence with her game.
Mladenovic, meanwhile, who has had a resurgence in her singles career, has been playing well the past few months, and it seems as though the pieces of the missing puzzle are finally put together this week at Washington for her.
It should be a close match, but Mladenovic should prevail in the end based on recent form and physical freshness out of the pair.
Prediction: Mladenovic in 3
Camila Giorgi vs Zarina Diyas
Head-to-head: Giorgi leads 1-0
Diyas has been playing well all week and has to drop a set all tournament. If she can keep it up, she has a serious shot at the title considering how open the draw is.
Giorgi, on the other hand, has struggled all season, and has, for the first time since January, won back-to-back matches. She is yet to win three matches in a row at any tournament this season.
Considering Diyas has already reached some deep stages of some ITF tournaments in the year, she should be the more confident one going into this match, and this could be the decisive factor for this match-up.
Prediction: Diyas in 2
Caty McNally vs Su-Wei Hsieh
Head-to-head: First meeting
McNally’s dream here at home continues as she saw off Christina McHale in the third round to reach the last eight. The American will find it difficult against Hsieh who has frustrated all her opponents this week.
It will be an interesting match as it will give a glimpse of how McNally will cope with the pressure of reaching a WTA quarterfinal and playing against an opponent in the world’s top 30.
However, the 17-year-old’s run will most likely come to an end here, as Hsieh’s vast experience and tricky game style will get her over the finish line.
Prediction: Hsieh in 2
Lauren Davis vs Jessica Pegula
Head-to-head: Tied 2-2
Davis was impressive by knocking out the third seed, Sofia Kenin, in the previous round. The 25-year-old will for sure be looking to keep the run going against her compatriot, Jessica Pegula.
It will be a close encounter as Pegula has already beaten Davis earlier this year. But Davis has recently picked up some good form, so it will be interesting how this match plays out.
Davis should advance here at Washington as she is the more in-form and confident player as of right now. At crucial points, it will be the player who has more confidence that usually goes through.
Prediction: Davis in 2
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Disagree with our Washington Open predictions? As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
