Day 4 of the WTA Kremlin Cup is here, and trips to the quarterfinals are at stake! A bunch of exciting matches are to be played, including top seed and World No. 4 Elina Svitolina taking on Veronika Kudermetova. Who will advance to the quarterfinals in Moscow? Read on to find out!
WTA Kremlin Cup Day 4 Predictions
Kaia Kanepi vs Kiki Bertens
Head to Head: 1-0 Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi takes on Kiki Bertens with a spot in the Moscow quarterfinals at stake. Kanepi qualified for the tournament without dropping a set (although she did benefit from a retirement) and won easily in the first round over Timea Babos. Bertens reached the quarterfinals at the indoor hard event in Linz last week, but fell to Coco Gauff in straight sets.
Kanepi leads the head to head 1-0, having won their 2012 meeting on a hard court in Seoul. Kanepi will try to overpower Bertens with her big game. Bertens’ counterpunching game will be put to the text against Kanepi. Bertens is also facing the pressure of trying to reach the WTA Finals in Shenzhen. She needs a big week in Moscow in order to reach the WTA Finals. While Kanepi will cause a scare for Berens, expect Bertens’ consistency and ability to turn defense into offense to be what wins her this match. Bertens moves on to the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Bertens in 3
Anastasija Sevastova vs Kristina Mladenovic
Head to Head: 2-0 Sevastova
A spot in the WTA Kremlin Cup quarterfinals is on the line when Anastasija Sevastova battles Kiki Mladenovic. Sevastova won her opening round match comfortably against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Mladenovic battled past Yulia Putintseva in three sets.
Sevastova leads the head to head 2-0, but both matches were on clay and one was via retirement. Sevastova will try to use her variety and touch shots to her advantage against Mladenovic. Mladenovic is a very good player indoors and is a good all-court player. However, I think that Sevastova will be able to keep Mladenovic off balance with her variety. Sevastova wins a close one.
Prediction: Sevastova in 3
Varvara Gracheva vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head to Head: never played
Varvara Gracheva battles Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of the Kremlin Cup. Gracheva qualified for this tournament, only dropping one set in the process. In the first round, against Ajla Tomljanovic, Gracheva won comfortably in straight sets. Pavlyuchenkova had to recover from a set deficit in her opening match against Maria Sakkari, but dropped four games combined in the final two sets.
These two have never played before. Pavlyuchenkova is a former champion of this tournament (finalist in another year too) and clearly has the experience advantage over the 19 year-old Gracheva. However, Gracheva is rising up the rankings quickly, projected at a career high World No. 103 in the live rankings. The youngster would break into top 100 in live rankings with a win. However, after a slow start, Pavlyuchenkova started to play really well against Sakkari and she is the better player in this matchup. Pavlyuchenkova advances.
Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova in 2
Elina Svitolina vs Veronika Kudermetova
Head to Head: never played
Elina Svitolina battles Veronika Kudermetova in the second round of the Kremlin Cup. Svitolina is playing her first match in Moscow, but reached the quarterfinals of her previous tournament in Beijing, although that was on outdoor hard and not indoor indoor hard. Kudermetova has been in good form since the US Open and continued her form to the first round, beating Ons Jabeur in straight sets.
These two have never played before. Svitolina is ranked much higher and is much more experienced. It will be the consistency and counterpunching abilities of Svitolina that will get her the win in this match. Svitolina is just at a higher level than the level of player that Kudermetova has played recently and I think Svitolina will force her into a bunch of unforced errors and counterpunch well enough to win this match fairly comfortably.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
