Day two at the WTA Qatar Open will see six first-round matches with a spot in the last 16 the reward for the victors. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Belinda Bencic vs Madison Keys. But who will book their place in the second round in Doha?
WTA Qatar Open Day Two Predictions
Jessica Pegula vs Wang Qiang
Head-to-head: Pegula 1-0 Wang
After her commendable efforts in reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, Jessica Pegula was handed a sharp reminder of the realities of life on the WTA Tour when she failed to make the cut for direct entry into the main draw at the WTA Qatar Open. But to her credit, the American maintained her focus and commitment to come through the qualifying, including negotiating a tricky second-round test against Anastasia Potapova.
Her reward is what looks like a winnable match against Wang Qiang. The Chinese is not to be underestimated – she herself was a Grand Slam quarterfinalist as recently as the 2019 US Open – but she has struggled over the past 14 months. She has not yet advanced past the second round in 2021 and was unable to play for much of the 2020 season due to travel restrictions imposed by the Chinese government. Expect the in-form Pegula to have the edge here.
Prediction: Pegula in 2
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Anna Blinkova vs Ons Jabeur
Head-to-head: Jabeur 2-0 Blinkova
As one of relatively few representatives from the Arabic world to have reached the higher echelons of the sport, one imagines that Ons Jabeur will be keen to play her best tennis at the WTA Qatar Open. Particularly after what has been a disappointing start to 2021. Fortunately for Jabeur, she has been handed what looks, on paper at least, to be an ideal first-round draw. Anna Blinkova is not without quality and looks to have a reasonably bright future ahead of her, but the Russian has been beaten convincingly both times she has stepped on court to face Jabeur, including this year in Melbourne. Expect a similar outcome in Doha.
Prediction: Jabeur in 2
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Misaki Doi vs Zheng Saisai
Head-to-head: Zheng 3-0 Doi
After a poor opening to her 2021 campaign, which saw her suffer back-to-back straight-sets defeats in Melbourne at the hands of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Ajla Tomljanovic, Misaki Doi has found a measure of form in recent weeks. The Japanese claimed her first win of the season by beating Caroline Garcia in the first round of the WTA Phillip Island Trophy and she backed that up with a run through the qualifying to the second round in Adelaide.
She also managed to win two rounds of qualifying in Doha, but fell in straight-sets at the final hurdle to Jessica Pegula, before being handed a reprieve as a lucky loser. Many players have taken advantage of such good fortune by putting together a deep run, but it is hard to see Doi replicating that feat here. She has played Zheng Saisai three times and lost three times, failing to even win a set. Zheng may have been some way short of her best so far in 2021, but this looks like the perfect chance for her to get back to winning ways.
Prediction: Zheng in 3
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