Despite Serena Williams’ shock defeat on day two at the WTA Parma Open, there looks set to be plenty of intrigue and entertainment over the next few days in Emilia-Romagna. On day four, the second round will be completed, with five matches on the schedule. Every player will surely be desperate to gain some momentum ahead of the French Open, which starts in 12 days, but who will book their place in the quarterfinals?
WTA Parma Day 4 Predictions
Anna-Lena Friedsam vs Carolina Garcia
Head-to-head: Garcia 1-0 Friedsam
There is no doubting Caroline Garcia’s talent. The Frenchwoman has been ranked as high as fourth in the world and has won seven tour-level titles. But the breakthrough she threatened to make in 2017 and 2018 never really arrived, and she has struggled to build any real rhythm this season, going 9-8 so far. However, she did look sharp in beating Argentina’s Paula Ormachea 6-4 6-4 in the first round, a composed victory that will surely give her confidence moving forward.
Anna-Lena Friedsam, meanwhile, has already picked up three wins so far this week. The German beat Asia Muhammad and Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove to reach the main draw, where she battled past the in-form Viktorija Golubic. But she did lose her only previous meeting with Garcia on the grass in Mallorca in 2018 in straight sets. This may well be more competitive, but Garcia has that many more ways of hurting her opponents. That should give her a decisive edge.
Prediction: Garcia in 2
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Wang Qiang vs Martina Di Giuseppe
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is a match that Wang Qiang will surely feel she should be winning. The Chinese may have slipped from her career-high ranking of world #12 to #48, but that is still a lofty perch indeed compared with Martina Di Giuseppe, whose ranking currently sits outside the top 200. But the Italian, who arrived at the WTA Parma Open with just one win to her name at tour-level this season, looked sharp in beating Nao Hibino 7-5 7-6 in the first round.
Wang had to work hard for her first-round win, but finished strongly to find a way past Misaki Doi in three sets, 6-2 5-7 6-1. It was not a vintage performance from the former-US Open quarterfinalist Wang, but she played well enough when she needed to to beat the Japanese. If she can maintain that level up against Di Giuseppe, who has never been ranked inside the top 100, expect the Chinese to book her place in the quarterfinals in Emilia-Romagna.
Prediction: Wang in 2
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Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Sara Errani
Head-to-head: Errani 4-0 Sorribes Tormo
Sara Errani rolled back the years in the first round, battling past Romania’s Ana Bogdan in three sets to record her ninth win of the season. The former-French Open finalist may well like her chances of claiming a tenth when she steps on to court to face Sara Sorribes Tormo. The Spaniard has had a largely impressive season, highlighted by her run to the quarterfinals in Miami, but she has lost all four of her previous meetings with Errani, including earlier this season on the clay in Bogota. That seems to provide convincing evidence that this is not a good matchup for Sorribes Tormo.
Prediction: Errani in 3
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Liudmila Samsonova vs Petra Martic
Head-to-head: Martic 2-0 Samsonova
If this match is anything like their two previous clashes, it should be some contest. Petra Martic, who arrived at the WTA Parma Open fresh from reaching the semifinals in Rome, will come into the match the favourite, all the more so because she won both of those previous matches, but Liudmila Samsonova should not be underestimated. The Russian lucky loser kicked off her main-draw campaign in Emilia-Romagna with a solid 6-2 6-2 win over Giulia Gatto-Monticone.
That suggests that she might be able to do some damage to Martic. But the Croatian, after a period of struggle, looks to be getting back to her best and was excellent in her first-round win over Varvara Gracheva. Her shot-selection was particularly impressive, with Martic using the drop shot to good effect. She would be well-advised to look to that shot again when she takes on Samsonova. If Martic is able to draw the Russian off the baseline and keep her off-balance, she should have just about enough to reach the last eight.
Prediction: Martic in 3
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Cori Gauff vs Camila Giorgi
Head-to-head: first meeting
This is unquestionably the match of the day at the WTA Parma Open. Cori Gauff, who last time out made the quarterfinals in the Italian capital, made a good start to her week in Emilia-Romagna, battling past the veteran Kaia Kanepi in two tight sets. Camila Giorgi, meanwhile, has not had a season to remember and arrived in Parma having lost her last three matches. But she snapped that losing streak with a hard-fought 6-7 6-4 6-4 win over Christina McHale.
If she is to back that up against Gauff, she will most likely need to be at her very best. The Italian does have the talent to win this match, with few players able to live with her power and accuracy when she is on song. But Giorgi can all too often become frustrated by the WTA Tour’s better defenders, leading to her pulling the trigger too early. It may be slightly premature to place Gauff in that category, but she is certainly heading in the right direction on that score and should be able to blunt Giorgi’s offence.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
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