Following a dramatic day of action at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday, there should be no shortage of entertainment on day four, as eight matches are set to be played. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Anett Kontaveit vs Aryna Sabalenka. But who will reach the quarterfinals in the UAE?
WTA Dubai Tennis Championships Day Four Predictions
Jessica Pegula vs Karolina Pliskova
Head-to-head: Pegula 1-0 Pliskova
This is a repeat of last week’s WTA Qatar Open quarterfinal in which Jessica Pegula completely obliterated Karolina Pliskova. That result went along way towards steering Pegula inside the top 40 of the WTA rankings for the first time. In contrast, things are not looking rosy for Pliskova at the start of this season. Tuesday’s near-capitulation is a case in point. The 28-year-old gifted Anastasija Sevastova a way back into the match when she led 6-3 5-3. That said, she was able to steady herself after dropping the second set to clinch her sixth win of the season.
The bottom quarter of the draw is opening up and there is a real chance of Pegula going all the way. This will be the Buffalo native’s 19th match of the season, and unsurprisingly considering how well she has been playing, she looks energized. The key for Pliskova is to serve big and impose herself on Pegula, rather than let the American dictate proceedings from the baseline. This is well within her capabilities, but only if she is at her best. And whilst there may well be a reaction from Pliskova, it is still hard to look past Pegula here.
Prediction: Pegula in 3
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Anastasia Potapova vs Belinda Bencic
Head-to-head: Bencic 1-0 Potapova
Anastasia Potapova is putting together a good run at the WTA Dubai Tennis Championships. The teenage Russian dismissed Madison Keys in the second round – a player ranked nearly 70 places above her- and she looks at home in the UAE despite this being her debut appearance at the tournament. She also looks entirely undeterred by the gulf in rankings or the quality of the opponents. However, She will face her biggest test yet in the form of the 2019 champion Belinda Bencic.
The Swiss needed to dig deep to overcome the challenge of Veronika Kudermetova – a player who has made a tremendous start to the year – in the second round, but managed to come through a testing encounter. Impressively, Bencic fired 11 aces, won over 70% of first serve points and broke serve four times in a match that lasted two hours and 38 minutes. Potapova is playing well enough to make this competitive, but Bencic is finding her feet again after an indifferent start to the season.
Prediction: Bencic in 3
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Caroline Garcia vs Elise Mertens
Head-to-head: Garcia 3-1 Mertens
Elise Mertens has been bothered by a shoulder injury since the turn of the year and there was a big question mark on her participation at the Dubai Championships this week, as a result, particularly after she was forced to withdraw in Abu Dhabi in January and in Adelaide last month. But it seems she has made a full recovery and proceeded to demonstrate her hard-court prowess with a fine win over the in-form Shelby Rogers.
Mertens, who is already a champion this year after winning the WTA Gippsland Trophy in Australia, improved her record to 9-1 for the season so far with that win. She will next face world #47 Caroline Garcia. The Frenchwoman is currently a tight rope as she bids to stay inside the top 50. Matches between the pair have been close, and although on current form the Belgian is the favourite, there is a lot at stake for Garcia this week. That should spur her to record an upset win against the 10th seed.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
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Iga Swiatek vs Garbine Muguruza
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is the pick of Wednesday’s matches as 15th meets 16th in the rankings. Iga Swiatek won her first hard-court title in Adelaide last month, ticking another box on the self-improvement grid. But she will surely be tested here, with Swiatek’s third-round opponent Garbine Muguruza possibly the most in-form player in the past 18 months that hasn’t won a title in that period.
But that record is bound to change if the Spaniard continues to knock on the door at the business end of tournaments. If both players can replicate the level they have played at of late, this could well be a brilliant match. There are many things that the young Pole is doing right, and one of those is her court coverage, with the 19-year-old able to outmanoeuvre her opponents from the baseline, as well as reach balls that seemed certain winners and return them with interest. Swiatek should have the edge in this one.
Prediction: Swiatek in 3
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