It’s quarterfinal day at the WTA Abierto Akron Zapopan in Guadalajara. All four matches look like they will be very competitive. Sara Sorribes Tormo, Camila Osorio, and Sloane Stephens are the remaining seeds in the draw, how many of them will advance to the semifinals?
WTA Guadalajara Quarterfinal Predictions
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova vs Qiang Wang
H2H: First meeting.
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova has produced a pair of solid performances to reach the quarterfinals in Guadalajara. A 6-1 6-4 opening round win over the fifth seeded Nuria Parrizas-Diaz was followed by a 6-3 7-6 victory against Anastasia Potapova. The slow hard courts in Guadalajara make Schmiedlova a troublesome opponent, the Slovakian has always performed her best on slower surfaces.
Qiang Wang managed to win back-to-back matches on just 1 occasion in 2021. The former world #12 has already bettered that in 2022 having reached the third round at the Australian Open last month and now reaching the quarterfinals in Guadalajara. Wang has been dominant in her first couple of matches this week, a 6-2 6-1 win over Lauren Davis was followed by a 6-4 6-2 victory over Harmony Tan. It seems Wang is finally starting to turn things around after a rough couple of seasons.
I’m leaning towards Wang in this matchup. This is likely to be a close match, as there isn’t much to separate the pair in these conditions. Wang’s willingness to be more aggressive and slightly greater ability to penetrate the courts should give her the edge. Wang is playing well enough at the moment to suggest she will execute.
Prediction: Q. Wang in 3
Camila Osorio vs Anna Kalinskaya
H2H: Osorio 1-0.
Camila Osorio battled from a set down to reach the final eight, a 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory against Hailey Baptiste. It was a slow start but a decent enough victory in the end, as was a 6-4 6-3 opening round win over Viktoriya Tomova.
Anna Kalinskaya progressed to the quarterfinals in Guadalajara with back-to-back wins over rising Chinese opponents. A 6-3 2-6 6-2 opening round win over the eight seeded Qinwen Zheng was followed by a 6-4 0-6 6-4 victory against Xinyu Wang. The Russian will reach a new career high ranking at the end of this week no matter what happens from here.
Osorio defeated Kalinskaya in the only previous meeting between the pair, a 1-6 6-0 6-4 victory at Wimbledon last year. There isn’t much to separate these two, especially on this surface. Both are quite streaky, making it even tougher to predict a winner. I’ll go with Kalinskaya, who has beaten a couple of dangerous opponents this week and seems to be in a good space.
Prediction: Kalinskaya in 3
Sloane Stephens vs Daria Saville
H2H: Stephens 1-0.
Sloane Stephens looms as the favorite to go on to win the title in Guadalajara this week as the draw has fallen apart around her. The American has been reasonably solid this week in just her second tournament of the year. The sixth seed started the week with a 6-2 6-2 win over Brenda Fruhvirtova, before edging past Chloe Paquet 7-5 6-4.
Daria Saville is through to her first Tour-level quarterfinal since Strasbourg in 2019. The Aussie eliminated the top seeded Emma Raducanu in the opening round, her biggest win by ranking in a long time. Saville led 5-7 7-6 4-3 before Raducanu retired in a match that lasted well over three hours. The Aussie recovered well from that lengthy match as she cruised past Caroline Dolehide 6-1 6-3 to reach the final eight.
This is a much tougher to predict than the current rankings suggest. I’m going for the upset here; I think Saville will enjoy this matchup in these conditions. Saville’s movement and defensive skills will be a nuisance for Stephens on a slow court. If Stephens isn’t prepared to get down and dirty, she will come up short.
Prediction: Saville in 3
Sara Sorribes Tormo vs Marie Bouzkova
H2H: Sorribes Tormo 2-0.
Sara Sorribes Tormo has made a fantastic start to her title defence in Guadalajara. A 6-4 6-1 win over Katie Volynets was followed by a 6-0 6-2 victory against Magdalena Frech. The 25-year-old has now won 7 consecutive matches in Guadalajara, including 14 consecutive sets.
Marie Bouzkova struggled through the opening round with a 4-6 7-5 6-4 win over Misaki Doi. There were better signs for the Czech player in a 7-6 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Lucia Bronzetti.
Sorribes Tormo won both of the previous meetings between the pair, including a 6-3 7-6 victory on route to the title in Guadalajara last year at the semifinal stage. The Spaniard also defeated Bouzkova 6-2 7-6 during Wimbledon qualifying in 2018.
I think this is a good matchup for Sorribes Tormo, especially on a slow surface. The head-to-head record between the pair backs that up. Bouzkova doesn’t have the weapons to consistently hurt Sorribes Tormo in these conditions, and she is unlikely to outlast the more solid and more disciplined Spaniard in a baseline battle. Sorribes Tormo has won 14 consecutive sets at this event for a season and all 4 sets against Bouzkova for a reason. Expect those trends to continue here.
Prediction: Sorribes Tormo in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
