Day 4 of the WTA Hua Hin Championships will decide the remaining quarterfinalists. After Eugenie Bouchard’s withdrawal due to injury on the eve of the tournament and Petra Martic’s shocking defeat, the event has suffered from the absence two of the star attractions. But the top seed Elina Svitolina looms large in the draw.
Who will advance to the quarterfinals?
WTA Hua Hin Day 4 Predictions
Xiyu Wang vs Barbara Haas
Head-to-head: First meeting
Xiyu Wang caused quite possibly the biggest upset of the tournament, beating the second seed and Roland Garros quarter-finalist Petra Martic in the first round. Wang is only 18, but it is easy to see why she is regarded so highly among the Chinese tennis fraternity. She has taken a particular liking for the hard courts having won the US Open junior title in 2018. The left-handed teenager also boasts multiple victories over top-100 players including a stunning win over Olympic Gold medalist Monica Puig at the Miami Open in 2019.
Wang might anticipate a much tougher afternoon against Barbara Haas who has previously made the quarterfinals in Hua Hin when the event was part of the WTA 125K series. But after a career-best win against the World No.15, Wang should be the favorite to win here.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Magda Linette vs Shuai Peng
Head-to-head: Linette 1-0 Peng
Magda Linette won in their only previous meeting albeit via a retirement in Kuala Lumpur in 2017. But Peng is certainly coming into this match up in buoyant mood and in good health after making light work of Yue Yuan in the first round dropping just one game in a 6-1 6-0 rout. Peng will also bring a 12-2 record she compiled on the ITF tour during her last three tournaments participation.
The Chinese veteran’s glory days on the senior tour might be over, but expect her to edge an error-prone Linette.
Prediction: Peng in 3
Patricia Maria Tig vs You Xiaodi
Head-to-head: First meeting
This is a first meeting at tour-level between Tig and Xiaodi, but the pair actually met in Thailand in the first round of last week’s Nonthaburi ITF W25, with the Romanian winning in three sets. Tig went on to reach the final at the tournament, but retired in the final against Irina Fetecau while trailing by a set. There will be huge question marks on Tig’s fitness on the back of a brutal first round against Yafan Wang. I expect this to be another close tussle between these two, and for Xiaodi to avenge last week’s defeat.
Prediction: Xiaodi in 3
Elina Svitolina vs Storm Sanders
Head-to-head: First meeting
Elina Svitolina has had a mixed start to the year, but this week represents a perfect opportunity to banish the memories of her comprehensive straight-sets loss to Garbine Muguruza at the Australian Open. The Ukrainian has admitted that anything less than a title win this weekend will be a huge disappointment and you can’t fault her especially when you consider the depth of the draw. This tournament should serve as a nice confidence booster for her and her bid to win the Dubai Championships for the third time next week.
Storm Sanders who is making a rare appearance in a WTA main draw event, had called it quits on her singles career not many seasons ago, deciding to concentrate on her doubles career before she suffered a serious shoulder injury in 2018. In an effort to make ends meet post-rehabilitation, she was part of the backstage team at the 2019 Australian Open crunching down numbers for the match analysis team. But after making a successful return to singles competition last October, she went on to capture the biggest title of her career at the Playford ITF W60 event in November. And on Monday at the Hua Hin Championships, she won her first WTA main draw match in over six years. But despite confidence being at an all-time high right now, I don’t expect her to puncture through Svitolina’s great defensive skills.
Prediction: Svitolina in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
