The Slovenian coastal resort enjoyed its first day of WTA action and the entertainment should continue on day two at the WTA Portoroz Open with 12 first-round matches on the schedule. As always, we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for all 12 matches, including Cristiana Ferrando vs Tamara Zidansek and Jaqueline Cristian vs Yulia Putintseva. But who will book their place in the second round?
WTA Portoroz Day 2 Predictions
Katarina Zavatska vs Katie Boulter
Head-to-head: Boulter 1-0 Zavatska
Katie Boulter has been a top 100 and the Briton looks to be heading back towards that kind of ranking following a run of injuries and lack of fitness which saw her ranking plummet. She has a very healthy winning record this season, including a 7-3 record in the last ten. Zavatska, in a perfect demonstration of yin/yang, has had a poor season with a losing record. I have no desire here to go against the logic those form lines provide, especially as Boulter is probably the better hard-court player of the two and won their only previous meeting.
Prediction: Boulter in 2
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Aleksandra Krunic vs Ziva Falkner
Head-to-head: first meeting
Ziva Falkner is a fairly typical first round wildcard selection for a WTA 250 tournament. She is 19, a promising junior record, and is making progress in her transition into the senior ranks. She has a winning record on the ITF tour, but almost solely on clay. However, clay is also by far Aleksandra Krunic’s best surface and her excellent recent form is also on the dirt. Neither player then gets their ideal conditions here then, but the way that Krunic has played recently makes her a strong favorite in this matchup.
Prediction: Krunic in 2
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Dayana Yastremska vs Jasmine Paolini
Head-to-head: first meeting
Dayana Yastremska hasn’t found it that easy coming back into tennis after her absence for a since-overturned doping ban. It has been fairly tough for her with the draws that she has had though. She has lost to Angelique Kerber, Barbora Krejcikova and Sloane Stephens in her last three tournaments. Jasmine Paolini won’t make it much easier for the Ukranian as she already has a number of recent top 100 scalps. Yastremska should have the power game on the hard court to just about grind this out.
Prediction: Yastremska in 3
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Petra Martic vs Kaja Juvan
Head-to-head: Martic 1-0 Juvan
This is when researching these matches is often so fun. The previous meeting between these two was in an ITF tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula in 2017. This means that Juvan was 16 at the time, however, Martic was the lower-ranked player and was actually a qualifier. That is despite the Croatian having been a top 20 player earlier in her career (and indeed again since).
Martic is also one of the very few women in the draw to have played Portoroz before doing so between 2008 and 2010. Juvan, of course, is on home (deco)turf and will surely relish the opportunity to go out there and play in front of her home fans. I think the young gun has massive potential in the game and despite being ranked outside the top 100 right now, she will be the dynamic force in this matchup and win it.
Prediction: Juvan in 2
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