Newly crowned Doha champion Petra Kvitova will headline a busy schedule on day three of the WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. We have predictions for all 16 matches on Tuesday, including Amanda Anisimova vs Garbine Muguruza, Ons Jabeur vs Elena Rybakina and Alize Cornet vs Aryna Sabalenka. Who will reach the third round?
WTA Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 3 Predictions
Marketa Vondrousova vs Cori Gauff
Head-to-head: first meeting
Expectations have skyrocketed for Coco Gauff and she is only 16. But we now speak of her in the same breath as other top 40 players after the young American made her move in the rankings this past week. Gauff garnered her best win of the season on Sunday when she beat the World No.33 Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets. It appeared the 16-year-old was in command when she took an unassailable lead in the final set, but closing out matches is one of her major weaknesses. From 5-1 up, Gauff was dragged into a tiebreak, in which she saved two match points before grinding out victory. She sets up a next generation battle against Marketa Vondrousova whose form is very much on the mend. The 21-year-old Czech is 7-3 for the season, which is a marked improvement to start the year. She does hold a slight advantage with her explosive power off the ground, but it will be dexterous slices and dropshots that will undo Gauff here.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 3
Anett Kontaveit vs Sorana Cirstea
Head-to-head: Kontaveit 2-0 Cirstea
Kontaveit looked really sharp in Doha last week, with two devastating performances against Jennifer Brady and Angelique Kerber. Although her run was halted by eventual champion Petra Kvitova, she did at least give the Czech her toughest bout of the week. The Estonian hasn’t taken her foot off the pedal in Dubai. She demolished Timea Babos of Hungary 6-2 6-1 and she looks nailed on for a spot in the third round against the inconsistent Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
Prediction: Kontaveit in 2
Caroline Garcia vs Martina Trevisan
Head-to-head: first meeting
Caroline Garcia’s ranking is falling steeply. Unless there is dramatic change in results, she will exit the top 50 for the first time in eight years. For a player who was touted to be a future number one, this could be bad for Garcia’s reputation. She has a chance to string back-to-back wins for just the second time this season when she plays Martina Trevisan. The Italian lost handily in the second round of qualifying to Lesia Tsurenko, but enters the main draw as a lucky loser following Victoria Azarenka’s withdrawal. Despite Garcia’s ongoing struggles, she secured a decent comeback win over Kerber in the first round and it is tough to see the Florence native mastering any upset bid.
Prediction: Garcia in 2
Petra Kvitova vs Jil Teichmann
Head-to-head: first meeting
Petra Kvitova cannot afford to rest on her laurels as she eyes a historic double in the Middle Eastern swing. Only two women have won Doha and Dubai back-to-back. Martina Hingis achieved the feat 20 years ago, and Justine Henin remains the last woman to do it, in 2007. It just shows the magnitude of the task in hand for the two-time Grand Slam winner, and how it is such a rare occurrence on the WTA tour.
Kvitova plays a fellow left-hander in Jil Teichmann. The Swiss lady made a brilliant start to the year in Melbourne. She reached the quarterfinals of the newly-minted Phillip Island Trophy and the last four in Adelaide. Dubai marked her first tournament outside Australia and she dispatched Ukrainian qualifier Katarina Zavatska with embarrassing ease. But this will a significant step up in quality. Expect Kvitova – who just celebrated her 31st birthday on Monday – to roll into the third round.
Prediction: Kvitova in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
