Although the first half of the Sunshine Double, the Indian Wells Masters, has been postponed, with a potential date for the tournament not yet forthcoming, there should still be plenty of entertaining action at the WTA Miami Open. Day 2 will see a number of star names take to the court in Florida and every player will surely be desperate to book their place in the second round. But who will advance and who will fall to defeat?
We also have predictions for the rest of the Day 2 matches, across four other articles. One features Sloane Stephens vs Oceane Dodin, the second headlines Fiona Ferro vs Saisai Zheng, the third features Heather Watson vs Nina Stojanovic, and the fourth highlights Katerina Siniakova vs Ana Konjuh.
WTA Miami Open Day 2 Predictions
Alize Cornet vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Head-to-head:3-3
This will be the seventh meeting between the two WTA veterans, though it will be their first since 2017. Part of the reason they have not played in several years is the struggles of Kuznetsova as she appeared to be heading toward retirement before her recent resurgence at age 35. Cornet comes into Miami in the midst of a tough stretch where she has lost four of the past five matches played. Kuznetsova is coming off a semifinal run in St. Petersburg and has won four of her last six matches. Kuznetsova is a big hitter who can take advantage of lesser movement at her age by hitting big groundstrokes for winners. Cornet does not quite have the game to hit back and Kuznetsova will overpower her and win a competitive match.
Prediction: Kuznetsova in 3
Aliona Bolsova vs Qiang Wang
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is one of the more difficult matches on the day to prediction, simply because neither player has done much winning recently. Bolsova is a young player looking to break into the Top 100, but she has won just one of her six matches played in 2021. Wang is an established veteran with multiple WTA titles but has had a tough start to the year compiling a 2-7 record with her only two wins over players outside the Top 100. Wang is a good player, and part of her poor form may be due to the fact that she did not resume playing after the COVID break, going almost 11 months between matches. Though the results have not yet come, she is shaking off the rust with a couple competitive three set losses. Bolsova is still trying to find her game on hard courts, and Wang will try to get her game back on track this week and will win fairly easily.
Prediction: Wang in 2
Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs Storm Sanders
Head-to-head: first meeting
Cocciaretto is an up-and-coming Italian who has shown to be a real talent with a strong start to her 2020. Sanders generally focuses on doubles though she can hold her own on a singles court in addition to having one of the best names in tennis. The Australian put together a nice run to the quarterfinal in Adelaide, though that is one of just two singles tournaments she has entered this year. Cocciaretto made headlines in her run to the semifinal in Guadalajara where she defeated the top seed Nadia Podoroska in the second round. This match could really go either way, but Cocciaretto has gained a lot of match experience this year in Guadalajara and by qualifying for the Australian Open, and she will get more chances to showcase her talent in Miami by pulling this match out.
Prediction: Cocciaretto in 3
Kristina Mladenovic vs Danielle Collins
Head-to-head: Mladenovic 1-0 Collins
Mladenovic is always a tricky player to predict as her play is often wildly inconsistent maker her a threat to win or lose by a significant margin almost every match she plays. Collins is a solid player who plays her best tennis on hard courts and has started the season strong. The American is 9-4 in 2021 with three of four losses against players ranked inside the Top 20. Mladenovic is 5-7 on the year and has had a tough time stringing several match wins together. Collins is a solid overall player and for Mladenovic to have a chance she will have to be excellent on serve. Collins’ strong groundstrokes will be enough to get to the serve of Mladenovic and her solid play will lead her to a win.
Prediction: Collins in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
