The WTA Kremlin Cup quarterfinals are here! The play in Moscow has been exciting and we are into the quarterfinals! Who will rise to the occasion and who will fall at the WTA Kremlin Cup? Read on to find out!
WTA Kremlin Cup Quarterfinals Predictions
Kristina Mladenovic vs Kiki Bertens
Head to Head: 1-0 Bertens
Kiki Mladenovic has had a very good tournament. She had a nice win in the second round over Anastasija Sevastova. Mladenovic is very good indoors and has great touch on her shots. Kiki Bertens has done well to keep herself in contention for the WTA Finals. She is playing with a lot of pressure, but managed to get by Kaia Kanepi in the second round. This match will be tight, but I like the footstep and consistency of Bertens to win her this match over Mladenovic. But, it will be close.
Prediction: Bertens in 3
Kirsten Flipkens vs Belinda Bencic
Head to Head: 2-1 Bencic
Kirsten Flipkens had a nice upset win yesterday over the hard-hitting Dayana Yastremska. Her all-court game and backhand slice are tough to deal with. Belinda Bencic, like Kiki Bertens, is fighting for a WTA Finals spot in Moscow, and survived being a set down, and later, down a break in the third set, to reach the quarterfinals. However, I don’t think that Bencic is playing at near her best, while Flipkens’ off-pace game is tough to handle. Expect Flipkens to win a tight match by keeping Bencic off-balance.
Prediction: Flipkens in 3
Karolina Muchova vs Ekaterina Alexandrova
Head to Head: Never played
Karolina Muchova won her first tournament in Seoul in September and has brought that form to Moscow. Muhcova comfortably beat Vekic in her second round match. Ekaterina Alexandrova, a power player who is very good indoors, destroyed Anna Kalinskaya in her previous match. Muchova effectively uses an all-court game, while Alexandrova wants to stand up in the court and crack her groundstrokes. Expect Muchova to not allow Alexandrova to get comfortable from the baseline. Muchova advances in three sets.
Prediction: Muchova in 3
Veronika Kudermetova vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Head to Head: tied 1-1
Veronika Kudermetova got the biggest win of her life, beating Elina Svitolina in three sets in the second round of Moscow. Since the US Open, Kudermetova has been playing very high level tennis. Pavlyuchenkova, a 2014 champion at the Kremlin Cup, had to come back from a set deficit against Varvara Gracheva. Pavlyuchenkova recently beat Kudermetova in Beijing and I expect her to be too solid for Kudermetova, who may not be fully focused after such a big win against Svitolina.
Prediction: Pavlyuchenkova in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
